Imhotep.no review of "Fate is Your Muse" Devil To Pay - "Fate Is Your Muse" Ripple Music (2013) ‘It’s all about the riffs, man” - quote from the Devil To Pay Facebook page. How true of a statement that is - especially in the world of hard rock and heavy metal. If you can’t feel the riff create hair standing up on edge from every pore of your body, or your insides churning with this spine-tingling euphoria, why even bother returning for a repeat experience? Throughout the 40 plus years of great music in this beloved style, what comes to mind the most would be those chords that register timeless treasures: “Smoke on the Water”, “Iron Man”, “Phantom Of The Opera”, “Ace Of Spades”, “Master of Puppets”, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, the list could go on forever for riffs that transcend generations. And so the mission of Indianapolis, Indiana quartet Devil To Pay with this new album “Fate Is Your Muse” is to add a couple of those riffs hopefully to the coffers - even if on their own small, cult-like audience following. The band performs in a style of doom laden metal intertwined with some southern-flavored stoner rock. “Yes Master” for instance appears to be a hodgepodge of Trouble down-tuned heaviness against guitarist Steve Janiak’s blues driven vocals, conjuring up Jerry Cantrell and Woody Weatherman digging from the depths of their souls. The follow up “This Train Won’t Stop” is a break neck paced rocker in line with Masters Of Reality and Scissorfight- love the bass/drum chugging juggernaut from Matt Stokes and Chad Prifogle, as this could be one of the numbers to receive ‘classic’ status. The almighty Sabbath does possess Devil To Pay in the riff department from time to time- “Ten Lizardmen & One Pocketknife” and the percussion propelled “The Naked Truth” two that just make me want to careen around my living room like a petulant child. Steve and fellow guitarist Rob Hough just know when to let the chords reign supreme or win to pull off the right note bend - check out the trailing notes during the instrumental sections of “Mass Psychosis” for pure doom/stoner metal bliss. “Fate Is Your Muse” wins me over because of its tempo control, genuine appreciation for the genre at hand, and throws in a few twists and turns along the way to keep you guessing (“Tie One On” has a killer swing vibe to it). Devil To Pay in their ten year history have been through more than their fair share of ups, downs, and turnarounds - it’s about time the world conform to their ideals, as this album provides years of cathartic entertainment. www.deviltopay.net www.ripple-music.com Rating: 5.5 / 6 Composed by Matt Coe