DevilDriver [PA] - DevilDriver

...friend had introduced me to Devildriver once when my music taste was far less diverse than it was today. Of course back then I hated them, they were too heavy for me. But not so long ago as I realized my music taste was headed towards the area known as 'heavy metal' I decided to give them another try.

I picked up their album genially named 'Devildriver' and went home to listen to it. The first song on the album named 'Nothing's wrong?' ...
...melodic songs on the album, Devildriver like their music heavy and consistent. I have heard some people regard Devildriver as 'just noise' but every Devildriver song has a deep drum rhythm to make it something you can at least nod your head to. The guitar riffs placed above this make it a song which is complex and hard to register all of it. Regardless of this fact, once you have listened to the songs a few times you will begin to hear all of the ... more

My friend had introduced me to Devildriver once when my music taste was far less diverse than it was today. Of course back then I hated them, they were too heavy for me. But not so long ago as I realized my music taste was headed towards the area known as 'heavy metal' I decided to give them another try.

I picked up their album genially named 'Devildriver' and went home to listen to it. The first song on the album named 'Nothing's wrong?' launches you straight into the barrage of thrash metal riffs and screaming vocals, chances are that if you don't like the first song you will not like the rest of the album.

The album consists of 12 songs, which are :

1 - Nothing's Wrong?
2 - I could care less
3 - Die (and Die Now)
4 - I Dreamed I Died
5 - Cry for me Sky (Eulogy of the scorned)
6 - The Mountain
7 - Knee Deep
8 - What does it take (To be a man)
9 - Swinging the Dead
10 - Revelation Machine
11 - Meet the Wretched
12 - Devil's Son

There are no melodic songs on the album, Devildriver like their music heavy and consistent. I have heard some people regard Devildriver as 'just noise' but every Devildriver song has a deep drum rhythm to make it something you can at least nod your head to. The guitar riffs placed above this make it a song which is complex and hard to register all of it. Regardless of this fact, once you have listened to the songs a few times you will begin to hear all of the different levels of the song and really begin to enjoy it more.

The vocals as such are not singing vocals, their vocalist more screams down the mike. Regardless of this fact you can understand what he says most of the time, which is a rare ability from any vocalist, and a rare bonus for any listener. During the chorus the vocals usually repeat the song title over and over again, but it adds to the song. I like the chorus for this reason, if you do not understand what he says the first time you can still work it out after he says it another few times.

The guitar riffs are simple but effective; you can hear every note played and enjoy it. The guitarists use a dropped key, it sounds most like Drop C half a step down, but I'm not too sure listening by ear. The key they use definitely gives the riffs a far more dark and evil sounding feel to them, something that helps make the songs into what they are.

The songs themselves are very well made and played; each song has a clear part for drums, guitar and vocals which I like very much. It is clear how much time and effort went into the creation of each song, and making them sound good compared to one another. I could easily listen to the album for days, experiencing different parts of the songs.

My favorite song on the album has to be 'Cry for my Sky' as I think it is the best put together and has the best riffs and drum riffs compared to the other songs, also I believe it has the best vocal work done on it. Aside from that is also has the best title, which I think is an important factor in any song. Having said that, all the Devildriver song titles have something in common with the song they title. If the song is sad, so is the title.

Overall the album has its upsides and downsides. The downsides are that some songs sound ultimately similar, which is a shame, because all the songs sound extremely good it would be a waste of a song to call it similar to another. This is totally outweighed by the upsides, which are an album which is the fruits of so much work put in by Devildriver, the extreme guitar and drum riffs and finally the great work of the vocal screams.

I loved this album, if you like metal, you will too. 

...less