 
Back in 2012 Craig Owens announced that after
one album and a lot of touring his latest project
D.R.U.G.S were going on hiatus and that he had
also rejoined Chiodos as lead vocalist and straight
away I was gutted as D.R.U.G.S were a fantastic
band who released a debut album which was full
of hard hitting anthems from the start to the
end but at the same time I was happy that Craig
Owens was rejoining Chiodos as their second studio
album ‘Bone Palace Ballet: Grand Coda’
was a great listen and the band really weren’t
the same since the departure of Craig Owens.
Chiodos are set to release their fourth studio
album ‘Devil’ on the 1st April through
Razor And Tie Records and it is the first album
to feature Craig Owens and Derrick Frost in the
band since their 2007 release ‘Bone Palace
Ballet: Grand Coda’ which I am sure the
bands fans have welcomed with arms wide open as
let’s face it the bands third studio album
‘Illuminaudio’ lacked the song writing
skills and general performance of Owens and Frost.
The album ‘Devil’ is about the temptations
of everyday life and things that become regrets
and how you are forced to make decisions thorough
your life with some things having bigger impacts
than others and as Craig Owens states if you really
stand back and think of the word devil it is such
a strong word that has different meanings to different
people.
‘Devil’ is a return to form for Chiodos
as let’s face it Chiodos without Craig Owens
is like a monkey without a Banana or a dog without
a bone and as soon as you hit the play button
you will realise that as the Chiodos you first
loved are back yet this time around as the album
progresses there are slight elements of Criag
Owen’s old band D.R.U.G.S as well as tracks
with pack sheer aggression whilst others have
a huge catchy vibe due to Owens unique vocals.
The album opens with ‘U.G. Introduction’
which is a short piano piece introduction and
then a minute later the band blast into the highly
energetic ‘We’re Talking about Practice’
which is followed up by the aggressive ‘Ole
Fishlips Is Dead Now’ which easily sounds
like it has been influenced by the band D.R.U.G.S
and then we have the big infectious radio friendly
‘3AM’ which is going to remain in
your head for a long time after listening to the
song.
‘Sunny Days And Hand Grenades’ is
instrumentally as good as early Chiodos material
as things are truly random coming across like
Panic At The Disco! on speed. ‘Duct Tape’
see’s the band go down a slow route where
Craig Owens vocals seriously shine. ‘Behvis
Bullock’ see’s the band go all out
unleashing sheer noise as the band really do lay
there cards on the table and really go for it,
whilst ‘Expensive Conversations In Cheap
Motels’ opens with Craig Owens screaming
“I Fucking Hate You” which really
set’s the scene for this hard hitting energetic
number.
It has been a long wait for the release of ‘Devil’
but it has clearly been worth the wait as the
album is faultless as it is a truly diverse album
where each song is different from the last and
the band have managed to mix various different
styles and soundscapes throughout creating an
album which sounds theatrical whilst also maintaining
the right balance of melodic and heaviness.
If you are looking for an album to get lost in
then look no further than ‘Devil’.
5/5
Review by Trigger
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