I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that metal fans either love or hate Devildriver. There just doesn’t seem to be a middle ground. There are those that never thought they were a “legit” band to begin with because of front man Dez Fafara’s beginnings in nu-metal while others seemed to wholly embrace the band from their onset (And more scary for us older fans are those that got into Devildriver without even knowing who Coal Chamber is!)
Honestly, as a fan of Coal Chamber I just couldn’t get into their swan song (Before last year’s resurgence, that is) until I heard the first Devildriver record and then it clicked: Dez was progressing beyond the confines of a genre he was so prolific in which, regardless of the band drama at the time, was seemingly the reason behind the sound shift from goth rockers to heavy metallers.
Cut to 13 years later and Devildriver is still going strong as evidenced on their seventh opus, Trust No One.
“Testimony Of Truth” comes off like a new school Testament jam until Dez’s familiar growl lays waste to any pre-conceived notions of what “this sounds like”. “My Night Sky” is all brooding, slow-grooving, guitar squealing bliss as Fafara sounds utterly ferocious here and throughout Trust No One. And as the Black Metal-style breakdown hits it’s utter insanity to think that this record was being finished when the Coal Chamber resurgence was happening. If any of the haters still think that Devildriver is “just heavier Coal Chamber” then this song will surely prove them wrong.
“This Deception” might start off as “typical” Devildriver fair but devolves into raucous guitar solos, gang vocals, and a brutal drum pummeling by Austin D’Amond. “Above It All” sways with time changes while “Daybreak” is like a more aggressive Megadeth track (Especially that Mike Spreitzer/Neil Tiemann dual guitar attack) with a little of Fafara’s CC swagger/delivery paired with a hint of Southern twang which opens into this huge chorus. Meanwhile, the title track is one of those classic New Wave Of American Heavy Metal anthems which takes the In Flames/Soilwork Swedish metal influences and puts it through a Devildriver blender.
Further in, bassist Diego Ibarra leads the rumbling charge at the onset of “Retribution” until the atmospherically cataclysmic “For What Its Worth” makes its presence known and concludes the record. In the end you get ten tracks/45 minutes of pure, unbridled Devildriver on Trust No One and easily one of their best yet.
Trust No One will be unleashed on May 13th through Napalm Records. Pre-order yours here and here. For more on Devildriver, including where you can see them on their upcoming headlining run with The Devil You Know and Act Of Defiance, head here.