reviews

DevilDriver - Pray For Villains

posted by: Bayonetwork on 22 June 2009

I never really cared too much for Coal Chamber, so when Dez started with DevilDriver I never checked it out. I assumed he was going to follow through on the commercial success Coal Chamber accomplishing. However, DevilDriver was doing it another way. They have been looking for boundaries of extreme metal. So they did caught my attention at a certain point. But I was wondering how much further could DevilDriver go with this formula.

It seems that with Pray For Villains they took the formula to the next level. They did more than just taking the best out of death and black metal and adding that modern American sound. In the past, they already made a mixture that was quite easy consumable, without sounding too commercial. This time they even went a step further. DevilDriver added a whole bunch of groove and melody. This might look easier than it is, because there's always the risk of losing the strong points of the previous albums. Namely that their heavy style just blows your socks off. You don't have to worry, it's still very heavy and destructive music. But the total package has become bigger. The songs expanded and nest in your head quicker. It stays interesting though, because there are several layers. The title song Pray For Villains and I've Been Sober actually summarize what this album is all about. Pounding verses, epical choruses, but without taking the foot of the gaspedal. This is modern metal the way it should be.

On the lyrical level, DevilDriver has that same openness like Machine Head has. You just get a real insight in Dez his life and issues. It makes the venom he is spitting from his vocal chords even more convincing. When DevilDriver started out a few years ago, I never expected that I would come to like them as much as I do now.

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