:: Devil Driver - The Last Kind Words

Devil Driver

When vocalist Dez Fafara unveiled his new project Devil Driver in 2003 by way of their self-titled debut album, expectations were low given the sub-standard output from his former band Coal Chamber. But surprisingly, Devil Driver’s debut was rooted more in the melodic death metal realm (rather than Coal Chamber’s nu-metal sound), with the album showing Fafara at least making a determined effort to step out from Coal Chamber’s rather weak shadow. The band’s 2005 follow up effort ‘The Fury Of Our Maker’s Hand’ was a marked improvement in every way, with the band growing in confidence and starting to broaden their sound, which was only matched by Fafara’s own stellar performance on the album.

After a solid two years on the road, and touring alongside the likes of In Flames, Fear Factory and Machine Head, the Santa Barbara (California) act are back with their third full-length effort ‘The Last Kind Words’, and it’s by far their strongest and most consistent effort to date. The opening track ‘Not All Who Wander Are Lost’ is an intense fast paced number that shows a change in both sound and style from what’s normally offered up from Devil Driver in the past, with Boecklin’s relentless work behind the kit a definite stand out feature. But drumming aside, it’s the general structure of the song that really reveals the progression the band has made over the last two years, with the song clearly more thought out, with the heavier elements sounding more concentrated and timed to make an impact at just the right moments, rather than consistently bludgeon from beginning to end. The greater use of dynamics in further explored in the follow up blackened thrash effort ‘Clouds Over California’, while a strong Gothenburg influence can be heard in the melodic ‘Bound By The Moon’, ‘Horn Of Betrayal’ (Which features a guest appearance from Fafara’s son Simon on vocals) and the album’s standout cut ‘These Fighting Words’. Returning the album to heavier sounds are ‘Head On To Heartache (Let Them Rot)’, the slower and darker ‘Tirades Of Truth’, the riff led ‘When Summoned’ and the triumphant closer ‘The Axe Shall Fall’.

Devil Driver may have missed the mark a little on their first two releases, but overall they’ve finally nailed it the third time around, with ‘The Last Kind Words’ easily ranking as Devil Driver’s most consistent, memorable and diverse album to date.