I have two
stacks of CDs on my desk. Sixteen in one, one lone CD in the other.
The taller pile has CDs from a range of heavy-bands, on a range of
labels, most of whom are putting a ton of promotion behind these
releases. The music is alright, it has a bit of a crunch, but for
the most part all of them lack that spark, that mark of originality
and energy that makes you pay attention. On the other side is this
one little disc from a small band in Indiana called Devil To Pay.
That bastard outweighs all the others.
From the first note
to the very last chord, you are blown away by the sheer weight and
power of Devil To Pay's music. Charging out of Indianapolis, a town
not necessarily known for a quality heavy music scene, these guys
play with a power and energy that falls somewhere between High On
Fire and COC. In fact, on first listen, one would almost mistake
them for a New Orleans act because of the hearty doses of doom,
heaviness, and groove.
Kicking off with the hard-charging instrumental
"Mouthful of Spite" they set a hi-mark to match for the rest of the
album. Thankfully, they hit it every time. As soon as the power
groove of "The Lamb" kicks in, you're hooked on their
Sabbath-revivalism. It is a pure American sound where doom collides
with metal and stoner riffs - sharing a lot in common with great
bands like Spirit Caravan, Abdullah, Goatsnake, COC, Kyuss, and many
more - but Devil To Pay make it their own, with a more hard-charging
sound than those acts. Considering they've only been together two
short years, it's quite an accomplishment to reach the level of
such-well respected company. But when you hear these songs - from
"The New Black" to "Whores of Babylon" - you know these guys deserve
the respect.
Tracks such as "Dinosaur Steps," "Angular
Shapes" and "Tractor Fuckin' Trailer" show they are master riff
writers, able to combine an infectious hook with sheer power. At the
same time, lead vocalist/guitarist Steve Janiak is not ripping off
Ozzy, nor falling back on the modern crutch of just growling. He can
sing and harmonize, but can also be guttural and wail when the song
needs it, similar to John Garcia in his delivery. The band also has
a tremendous sense of dynamics; they're not relying solely on the
riffs to carry the song, understanding that tracks such as "Valley
of the Dogs" work better with space and atmosphere offsetting sheer
heaviness.
It's a solid album from beginning to end, just
about crushing everything I've heard in the past two months. Best of
all, the damn thing is uncategorizeable; you can't make it fit into
the stoner, doom, or metal categories. It's just downright heavy and
that's all that matters.
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