{"id":17932,"date":"2013-08-26T23:00:38","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T13:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=17932"},"modified":"2013-08-26T23:00:53","modified_gmt":"2013-08-26T13:00:53","slug":"devildriver-%e2%80%93-winter-kills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2013\/08\/devildriver-%e2%80%93-winter-kills\/","title":{"rendered":"DevilDriver \u2013 Winter Kills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019m awake, I\u2019m awake!! Sorry, if I was in any way dozing, I am no longer as the new DevilDriver album \u2018Winter Kills\u2019 begins, so does my treatment for the mini heart attack I had as my volume was up all the way\u2026 my fault, but at least I\u2019m alert now. Welcome back DevilDriver!<\/p>\n

\u2018The Oath\u2019 is the one that tried to kill me, but it\u2019s welcomed, it\u2019s brutal, yes a word that\u2019s over used, but it fuckin\u2019 is, so deal with it. This is HEAVY and so in your face that you\u2019re like \u2018hey, get out of my face\u2019 but what a song, and what a way to start an album that I know will kick my ass three ways from Sunday! \u2018Ruthless\u2019 continues on with its riffs and Dez singing like he means it, which I love about his style, he absolutely loves what he does and this band is his baby and it shows. Early on I want to mention the production, as they have once again worked with Mark Lewis who has done the last two releases, as he has helped create this wall of sound here and if you truly listen closely you can hear all the parts, some of them intricate and pivotal to the song. Listen to \u2018Desperate Times\u2019 for example, so much going on but whoa\u2026<\/p>\n

The title track, \u2018Winter Kills\u2019 you know within seconds what you\u2019re in for, and as I\u2019ve just opened up a circle pit in my lounge room I\u2019ll be back in a minute\u2026 yeah well that was no fun by myself\u2026 but let\u2019s just say when this is played live that I see many more than one person crazily running around in a circle and bashing into random sweaty people. Ahhh metal\u2026 \u2018The Appetite\u2019 which was the first single taken from the album is up next and this one showcases some great guitar work and as the song asks, \u201cDo you have the appetite?\u201d well, do you? \u00a0Needless to say it\u2019s big, but in saying that, I truly can\u2019t envision the next track being a piano ballad, so this whole album is big, it\u2019s loud it\u2019s heavy and it\u2019s what you want from a band like DevilDriver.<\/p>\n

Oh whoa, \u2018Gutted\u2019 well aren\u2019t you just the heaviest one yet! I don\u2019t even have words to type about this one other than I feel like if I say I didn\u2019t like it that it would break my fingers. Luckily I did like it and I live to type another day! \u2018Curses and Epitaphs\u2019 takes the production up a notch again as this one is a monster, and as far as the music go, this is just a wall of sound! Continuing to kick my ass through tracks like \u2018Caring\u2019s Overkill\u2019 and then \u2018Haunting Refrain\u2019 which sounds like it could be a ballad, right? Yeah well guess what it isn\u2019t\u2026 a ballad. Intro, build up, BOOM\u2026 take THAT not a ballad. The killer guitar solo on this one makes it a winner and the lighter I would\u2019ve held high I\u2019ve now used to set fire to things* as I feel that\u2019s what I should do.<\/p>\n

Only a couple to go before the surprise \u2018Bonus Tracks\u2019 and \u2018Tripping Over Tombstones\u2019 is up and you guessed it, it\u2019s mega, but the surprise on the album comes in the form of \u2018Sail\u2019 which is a cover of an Awolnation song, and you could say it\u2019s the \u2018cleanest\u2019 song on the album, but with the DevilDriver spin on it. Interesting choice for a cover, but hey, it works, so why not. If you listen to the original and then this, well, let\u2019s just say, um\u2026 actually, I don\u2019t want to listen to the original anymore, be gone version I don\u2019t like, this is now a DevilDriver song.<\/p>\n

Bonus Tracks are always an interesting thing as there\u2019s always the \u2018Oh man, that should\u2019ve been on the album, why wasn\u2019t that on the album?\u2019 from people, but I can tell you right now why these two tracks weren\u2019t on the album and were added as bonus tracks, because the previous eleven tracks were all so awesome that these weren\u2019t needed up there. So as a bonus to those that get them, you get \u2018Shudder\u2019 and \u2018Back Down To The Grave\u2019 and be happy there are more songs to add to the eleven you got on \u2018Winter Kills\u2019. But in saying that \u2018Back Down To The Grave\u2019 is close to, if not my favourite track I\u2019ve listened to tonight, so whatever version gets you this song, go find it!<\/p>\n

So is this DevilDriver\u2019s best work yet? In my opinion, yep, Winter Kills? Nope, Winter Killed!<\/p>\n

*= no fires were lit in the writing of this review.<\/p>\n

Check out our interview with Dez HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> USA<\/p>\n

Produced by:<\/strong> Mark Lewis<\/p>\n

Release date:<\/strong> 23 August 2013<\/p>\n

Record label:<\/strong> Roadrunner Records Australia<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.devildriver.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n<\/strong>The Oath
\n<\/strong>Ruthless
\n<\/strong>Desperate Times
\n<\/strong>Winter Kills
\n<\/strong>The Appetite
\n<\/strong>Gutted
\n<\/strong>Curses and Epitaphs
\n<\/strong>Caring\u2019s Overkill
\n<\/strong>Haunting Refrain
\n<\/strong>Tripping Over Tombstones
\n<\/strong>Sail
\nShudder (Bonus Track)
\nBack Down To The Grave (Bonus Track)<\/p>\n

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