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DevilDriver - Devildriver review




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Reviewer:
5.0

210 users:
7.39
Band: DevilDriver
Album: Devildriver
Release date: October 2003


01. Nothing's Wrong?
02. I Could Care Less
03. Die (And Die Now)
04. I Dreamed I Died
05. Cry For Me Sky (Eulogy Of The Scorned)
06. The Mountain
07. Knee Deep
08. What Does It Take (To Be A Man)
09. Swinging The Dead
10. Revelation Machine
11. Meet The Wretched
12. Devil's Son

A nu-metal musician decides to play some much heavier and extreme music. Its a statement concerning nu-metal which comes straight from one of the protagonists of that style. Exciting, huh? Well, it certainly would be if the music wasn't so damn boring...

Alright, I'll have to admit that the album starts off decently enough. There is a 3 song salvo which is bound to make pretty much anyone happy. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with "Nothing Wrong". "I Could Care Less" and "Die (And Die Now)" are also very good songs. The first and third one are very intense, near black-metal fare, whereas the second track is a great example of this New Wave Of American Heavy Metal that I keep on hearing about. The musicians are very proficient. Most notably - the drummer is very fast and the vocalist (that's the nu-metal guy - Dez Fafara - what a name!) has the ability to growl and screech with the best of them. Unfortunately, it all goes downhill form there. While "I Dreamed I Died" and "Cry For Me Sky" are still pretty decent, all the tracks after that are lackluster, tedious drivel which bores me to death. There are a few semi-decent leads here and there but honestly, I cant be bothered to listen through this again to find them. Perhaps the worst track is "Knee Deep" which ought to be called "Ears Deep" instead. If the bands intention is to kill me (they sure use the word 'death' a lot) then I know a number of better ways to achieve this than through boredom...

Another big problem with this release is that it seems to be torn between two poles - that of extremity and that of accessibility. The band sounds very convincing when its being extreme. I played "Die (And Die Now)" to one of my somewhat orthodox extreme metal fan friends and he said it was a cool track. That's a pretty big complement for Mr. Fafara. Unfortunately, only 2-3 tracks are like this. The rest are either bogged down by an attempt to sound post-grunge or by the similarity of Dez's growling to rap. Yup - that's right. This STILL sounds like nu-metal, even with all the blastbeats and screaming.

I wouldn't recommend this release to any metal fans just yet. I think that the band is heading in a good direction and obviously, the statement they are making against watered-down commercial metal is one to be admired. If the band pays attention to feedback from reviewers such as myself, they will develop the extreme elements of their music more on their next album. If they do (and I believe they will), I will look forward to that release.

You can imagine Devildriver to be like a real big mutha monster truck. One that can obviously kick some serious butt at the top of its form. Unfortunately, at the moment its wheels are still covered in mud. Hopefully, after driving around a little bit, the mud will fall off...





Written on 15.03.2004 by With Metal Storm since 2002, jupitreas has been subjecting the masses to his reviews for quite a while now. He lives in Warsaw, Poland, where he does his best to avoid prosecution for being so cool.


Comments

Comments: 10   Visited by: 97 users
23.11.2006 - 23:09
Baz Anderson

i partly agree
it has been a long time since i have listened to this album! but i do remember i rather liked quite a lot of the songs
the pace of the songs is probably the best bit - at least the album doesnt just go all slow and whatever like some albums in the past have
i do remember the last time i heard the album though - i was not as amused by it as i was the time before that - so i guess maybe the album doesnt have the longest life

still. i would give it more then five though - more like seven or something in that area
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24.11.2006 - 02:17
Rating: 7
Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt
I think a 5 is way too low for this album. With a few exceptions, this album is very consistent and songs like Nothing Wrong and Swinging the Dead make me want to run around and hit people. I haven't heard this album in like a year or two though, so my opinion could change if I listened to it today. I'd probably rate this around a 7 or 8.
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12.12.2006 - 04:20
devildriver86

This is an ok album i agree with the review the first three songs are the best i think it deserves a 5
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12.12.2006 - 20:52
Sunioj

Written by Dangerboner on 24.11.2006 at 02:17

I think a 5 is way too low for this album. With a few exceptions, this album is very consistent and songs like Nothing Wrong and Swinging the Dead make me want to run around and hit people. I haven't heard this album in like a year or two though, so my opinion could change if I listened to it today. I'd probably rate this around a 7 or 8.


Im with you, though I would probably give it either a 6 or 7, I really dont mind this album much, half the album is boring, but The mountain, Die and Die now, Swinging the Dead, Nothing Wrong and Cry for me sky are great songs if you listen to them every now and then. Nothing outstanding from a musical perspective, but this album is worth giving a shot if you are not contained to one genre.
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24.01.2007 - 06:46
Doc G.
Full Grown Hoser
I liked fury of our makers hand.....so should i get this or not? someone help me.
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"I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck."
- George Carlin
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24.01.2007 - 16:08
Sunioj

Written by Doc G. on 24.01.2007 at 06:46

I liked fury of our makers hand.....so should i get this or not? someone help me.


I think you should listen to this album first, this album is less melodic, but this album is more raw sounding and heavy. I do think you should check this out..
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29.06.2008 - 14:25
Passenger
Lost To Apathy
jupitreas got it right, much like Chimaira's first album is their only weak one, this is proto-DevilDriver, and the band became much more multidimensional since The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand.
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You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it ~ Mean Streets
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26.04.2009 - 06:03
Uirapuru
Liver Failure
The rate is a little bit low, but that must be one of the reviews that I most agree in some time. The reviwer got it all right, perfect analysis, just the rate, a 6 or 6.5 would be better.
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member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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19.01.2010 - 22:40
Rating: 8
thewall30

Personally I would of gave this a 7, the album is a decent debut, nothing eye popping but its still a really good album worth giving listens to, I would recommend it.

I also agree that the first three songs on here are the best...
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26.12.2011 - 06:28
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
I like it 7.3 for me.
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

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