Despite Dez Fafara’s return to the well that made him famous in the first place, with the reuniting of Coal Chamber, it hasn’t spelt the end of groove metal heavyweights Devildriver, who are back with their sixth album, Winter Kills. With previous release Beast having been received well, but not lasting long in the memory of most, this album came out without much fanfare, which may not have been helped by Dez’s continued dalliances with his old band mates. It also see’s Chris Towning take up bass duties on record for the first time, having been touring with the band since 2012.
If you want something new from a Devildriver album than look away now, because winter is coming and it’s bringing big riffs, shout along choruses and plenty of groove. Winter Kills is Devildriver being unashamedly Devildriver like and if you don’t like that then tough. “Oaths of the Abyss” starts us off, as it goes straight into that pit opening metal that has seen this band destroy many venues. It’s hardly new or exciting, but there is no denying it’s effective, even if at over five and a half minutes it could use being cut back a bit.
Unsurprisingly this being a metal album we have a nice dose of macho bravado in the form of “Ruthless” (as sarcasm doesn’t always translate well it writing let me make it clear, that was it). It does make you shake your head as Dez screams “I’ll see you in blood, left for dead, face down in mud, fuck you I’m ruthless. Despite the odds, left for dead, face in the mud I’m fucking ruthless.” Sounding around as hard as a herd of angry squirrels. Despite the lack of any real lyrical subtlety it’s a nice rhythmic track that once again will get crowds moving. The problem is when you have an entire album of tracks like that you do begin to lose your patience. Like most of their work you will listen to this album once or twice pick your favourite tracks and then hone in on them. There is no reason to go back to the album as a whole. It’s a shame as the fantastic Pray For Villains did once suggest this band could be much more than that.
It’s even more dissapointing when you hear some of the tracks where Devildriver do mix it up a bit. “Sail”, which is actually a cover of an AWOLNATION track, is a much more rock based, groove filled atmospheric track that see’s Dez giving judgement over the top of it. It’s Devildriver slowed down and being intelligent, so while the covering of an indie band may catch you off guard, it actually ends up showing you what happens when Devildriver think outside the box and allow themselves a bit more freedom.
Winter Kills is a good Devildriver album, but it’s little more than that. If you like groove filled metal tracks, you can bang your head to and scream along with (and lets be honest we all like a bit of that) then you will find enough to fill your boots here. However, I’ll be surprised if you find the need to listen to more than one or two tracks. If what you crave is something a bit more intelligent then I’d look elsewhere.
For fans of: Pantera, God Forbid
Choice Cuts: Sail, Winter Kills
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