Crawfordsville Journal-Review review of "thirty pieces" Devil To Pay contributes its slow death to area scene by Wade Coggeshall 01-17-04 Indianapolis-based Devil To Pay makes no bones it likes its metal thicker than week-old coffee and more sinister than your average current mainstream band. On their debut release, "Thirty Pieces of Silver," one can almost sense the band's urgency to save the genre from the pasteurized schtick of today and return it to the glorious days of Black Sabbath doom 'n' gloom. Devil To Pay consists of Steve Janiak on guitar and vocals, guitarist Rob Secrist, drummer Chad Prifogle and bassist Matt Stokes. Considering the four-piece's first public performance was less than two years ago, the members are well-versed in the art of intentionally slow and suffocating guitar mudslides. "Thirty Pieces of Silver" leaps right out of the gate, though, with the instrumental "Mouthful of Spite." Shifting riffs surge like a crank addict on a trampoline, only to slow to an evil crawl on the breakdowns. A little demented wah-wah solo is tossed in for the brief but satisfying slam. The clinic continues with "The Lamb," containing a sinewy strut capable of whipping any crowd into a frenzy. "Dinosaur Steps" features foreboding chords that amass into a swarm and charge like a locomotive. After the knowbby, twisting thunder of "Angular Shapes," DTP takes listeners on a down-tempo ride of blanketing guitar that could create a feeling of dread in the uninitiated on "The New Black." The raw-boned groove of "Toreador" rivals the Melvins at their loudest and dirgiest while coming off noticeably catchy as well. Janiak's voice is rough and tumble enough to serve the music without coming off as a parody of itself. And his lyrics reveal a tortured soul nearly choking on the worst of human nature. Consider this snippet from "Swathe": "You are the leech, suck off your friends. You hold them down, to meet your ends. You have no faults, except your greed. And every lie, in the air you breathe." "Whores of Babylon" cuts right to the bone: "Something wet and cold lingers deep in the heart, buried nearly forgotten it crawls in the dark. With malice and venome it slowly begins to climb, gond for your throat and coiled around your spine." With it's creepy crawl and enveloping intensity, Devil To Pay is filling a much-needed role in the Indianapolis metal market. The band's next show is Jan. 24 at Legends, Fort Wayne, with Graves of the Endless Fall and Cornfed Johnson.