Dez Fafara is a man who needs little introduction, having arrived on the scene at the height of the nu-metal explosion with Coal Chamber, whose debut album landed in 1997 to provide Roadrunner Records with a band to rival the impact that the likes of Korn and Deftones were having on the genre. But when relationships started to turn sour in Coal Chamber signaling the end of their initial run, rather than fading into obscurity, the larger-than-life vocalist reinvented himself for round two of his unique career in metal, with DevilDriver. 

Although Dez has continued to dip in and out of Coal Chamber, DevilDriver have remained a constant force over the last twenty years, and Dealing With Demons Vol. II (Napalm Records) marks their tenth full-length studio release, and acts as a companion piece to 2020s first Dealing With Demons record. And what the band deliver is almost exactly what you want and would expect from DevilDriver, powerfully delivered and full-on groove metal in a Lamb Of God vein, with Dez’s individual vocal style laid over some amazing riffs and musicianship from guitarist Mike Spreitzer. The duo are joined by returning founding bass player Jon Miller, alongside newcomers Alex Lee (rhythm guitar) and Davier Perez (drums) providing a new lease on life.

The album absolutely rips its way through nine tracks, starting with a short melodic intro on ‘I Have No Pity’ which quickly drops into type on a relatively catchy opener. And from here the album accelerates in quality with the bands’ best work coming with a mix of pace on ‘Mantra’, which has an almost blackened edge to the verse riff with thundering kick drums, and then more of a groove metal chorus. 

The record then flows onto the machine gun-like stuttering of ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ with Dez spitting “You can call me crazy,” before a number of infectious riffs vie for our attention on ‘Summoning’. 

Another highlight drops on ‘Through The Depths’, with a melodic classical guitar intro giving way to another powerful and blackened-esq riff, which morphs into a full-on and pounding groove when Dez’s vocals hit, before the track comes full circle. While elsewhere Spreitzer delivers more sumptuous guitar work on ‘Bloodbath’, and a riff on ‘If Blood Is Life’ that Dimebag himself would have been proud of, before the song plays out with the kind of fist-pumping glory that their live crowd is going to lap up. 

Without ripping up the rulebook of what they have always done, DevilDriver have at the very least delivered a new album with a selection of belters that sit alongside some of the best songs in their catalogue, and the record shows that undoubtedly, Dez and co are still a force to be reckoned with.

Buy the album here:

https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/devildriver

7 / 10 

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