Album Review

Devildriver - Winter KillsDevildriver – Winter Kills

Devildriver are one the all time greats in terms of sheer aggression, technicality, speed and with the fronting voice of the devils incarnate Dez Fafara they have been absolutely unstoppable since they first emerged on the scene. In my personal opinion, their debut full length Devildriver and follow up album Fury of Our Makers Hands are easily 2 of the greatest metal albums ever released and my teenage years were taken up mostly by spinning both of those records; the next one along The Last Kind Words was still a great success but with me made much less of an impact, then Pray For Villains and Beast both had some really great songs on there but on the whole they were just lesser albums in the bands already established career. 2013 has arrived, we have a new album and I am excited as from its name and cover design, I am expecting an absolute brute of a record.

“Oath of the Abyss”; wow, I sit in awe as it is everything that Devildriver are, all of the powerful elements are in play and it unlike the past 2 albums has that certain devil factor that I haven’t felt properly for a few years. I must say though I can see what angle they were trying to head on with after the first 2, they’ve been trying to really push the technicality in their sound with some success but I feel what is on show here really is their defining achievement in terms of structure and diversity; “Ruthless”, “Curses And Epitaphs” and “Gutted” are the crown jewels in that regard but alongside that we have those who retain the early 00’s traits like “Desperate times”, “Tripping Over Tombstones” and “Haunting Refrain” which can blow out your sphincter after 10 second assault let alone what the other 3 minutes of each track might do.

I feel like at last I can be excited by Devildriver again, I have listened to them minimally since the release of Beast but now with Winter Kills I feel like I’m being sucked back in again with all of these blistering new songs. The beast is back and it’s more ferocious than ever, that’s something we can all be excited about I just hope they roll this momentum overseas into Europe so I can see it live.

4.5/5

Review by James Webb

 Band Members

Dez Fafara
Mike Spreitzer
Jeff Kendrick
John Boecklin
 Track Listing

1. Oath of the Abyss
2. Ruthless
3. Desperate Times
4. Winter Kills
5. The Appetite
6. Gutted
7. Curses And Epitaphs
8. Carings Overkill
9. Haunting Refrain
10. Tripping Over Tombstones
11. Sail

 Band Related Links
Devil Driver Facebook
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?