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devilyouknow thebeautyofdestruction
Artist: The Devil You Know
Album: The Beauty Of Destruction
Genre: Modern Metal
Release Date: 25th April 2014
Label: Nuclear Blast Records


Album Review

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW has been intriguing fans ever since the hint of its conception dropped last year to fans. Led by vocalist Howard Jones who is known mostly for his KILLSWITCH ENGAGE fame while he filled in during Jesse Leach’s hiatus, a lot of fans are hoping this will be a continuation of something close to KILLSWITCH work or perhaps a nice marriage of melody and aggression that would relate to Howard’s other band, BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED. Teamed up with the likes of Francesco Artusato- guitar wizard extraordinary- and drums from John Sakey who has performed with the likes of FEAR FACTORY, the hopes for the next metal/ rock super group- since HELLYEAH- are in sight. However, as the album progresses it definitely feels like the album is leaning more towards KILLSWITCH.

The album roars open with ‘A New Beginning’ which is a nice melodic, modern metal start, but everything seems to be a bit of the middle ground for a bit. It isn’t super technical, super melodic, or super angry. It just seems to float in a manner- such as the track ‘Dead And Broken’- that only scratches the surface of each members’ talents. The guitar work isn’t quite overly technical and the drums just seem a bit flat, not having that bite that some would expect from FEAR FACTORY or Artusato’s solo project. Jones’s clean vocals are still strong, but his growls have lost their lustre a bit. As a result, he tries to mix the two together enough to keep a balance, such as on ‘Seven Years Alone’ which is a great modern metal piece, but as a result he drags the vocal performance down to a bit of a mediocre level with the rest of the musicians. That is, until ‘Crawl From The Dark’ comes on.

When this track hits it is like whatever felt like was holding back this group’s potential suddenly drops its grip. This music isn’t harder, but listeners can really hear the elements that each member brings and the result is… unique; as unique in the sense that when SCAR THE MARTYR presented their debut album the previous year with Joey Jordison and crew, people nodded their heads and said it was pretty impressive. The drums have their machine gun ferocity, Howard’s vocals don’t seem as winded, and the guitar work is still melodic but features more hooks. ‘Shut It Down’ features some of the best screams since KILLSWTICH work and features Artusato’s more churning rhythms that make this one of the more defining metal oriented pieces on the album. It will definitely resonate with fans who like groups like FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, but with a heavier touch. The closing ‘As Bright As The Darkness’ definitely demonstrates a whole new melodic level for the group and one of Jones’s more haunting clean vocal performances. Part of this is due to the electronic influence that drape the song but it just takes things to the next step that make for a perfect closer. There is no other track on the album like it and listeners may question themselves if they are hearing the same band halfway through.

‘The Beauty Of Destruction’ is a bit of a grower. First listen through is going to leave a bit of a lacklustre impression and one definitely has to get to the second half of the album to really see some definition in THE DEVIL YOU KNOW’s sound, but it is there. The album feels like a crossroads of a debut- no one is really sure where the group will go with its sound. It has the potential to be a flat out modern metal industrial piece like FEAR FACTORY or a more metalcore direction like KILLSWITCH was. Hopefully, Jones and crew with continue to impress fans with their new project and try not to leave us hanging for so long like they did with this album, but it is definitely worth checking out for those looking for some good American metal out there that is well produced, but doesn’t feel like it is trying to copy some of the bigger names out there. It blends a whole bunch of stuff from KILLSWTICH ENGAGE to DIVINE HERESY that will appeal to those who really dug metal in the mid 2000 era.


Tracklist

01. A New Beginning - 4:08
02. My Own - 3:43
03. Embracing The Torture - 3:26
04. For The Dead And Broken - 3:26
05. Seven Years Alone - 3:42
06. It's Over - 3:53
07. A Mind Insane - 4:13
08. Crawl From The Dark - 4:16
09. The Killer - 3:40
10. I Am The Nothing - 4:12
11. Shut It Down - 3:51
12. As Bright As The Darkness - 4:30


Line-up

Howard Jones – Vocals
Francesco Artusato – Guitar
John Sankey – Drums
Ryan Wombacher – Bass
Roy Lev-Ari – Guitar


Website

https://www.facebook.com/Devilyouknowofficial


Cover Picture

devilyouknow thebeautyofdestruction


Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10





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