With their debut album, it was unclear at times kind of metal
band Devildriver wanted to be. Hints of frontman Dez Fafara's
previous band, Coal Chamber, could be heard, while some songs
ventured into death and black metal territory. They were labeled
a metalcore band, but that will change with the release The
Fury of Our Maker’s Hand.
This record is a full-on metal assault. Gone are any traces
of metalcore and any memory of Coal Chamber. The band has
come into it's own, with technical death metal and even a
new found sense of melody. While the first album seemed to
be kind of forced at times, there is enough variety here and
nothing is as quite overdone. "End of the Line"
has a great acoustic intro and then just shreds for the next
few minutes. It’s a great opening track. "Hold
Back the Day" is perhaps the most accessible track, but
it’s heavy as hell with a chant-along chorus. "Sin
and Sacrifice" has a slowed down drudging part for the
chorus, and sounds like Pantera on steroids. "Before
the Hangman's Noose" has Dez barking, "It's a good
day to die." Maybe not the most original lyrics, but
it gets the job done. The title track actually has clean vocals
in the chorus, adding more depth to the album. I can envision
every song on this album being played live. There isn’t
a weak moment on the disc and there's enough variety here
to make every song stand on it's own.
The Fury of Our Makers Hand is many strides above
the band's self-titled debut. Let's hope that Devildriver
continues this progression and we could have ourselves a new
heavyweight in the metal scene. |