Veteran groove metal band Devildriver unveiled the latest single and video from its new album, Dealing With Demons II Wednesday. The single and its video are the third from the album, which the band released this past Friday through Napalm Records. Its premiere followed those of the album’s two other current singles, ‘If Blood Is Life’ and ‘Through The Depths.’ All three songs are key examples of what makes the band’s new nine-song album – its 10th album – another positive offering from the band and to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums. That is due to their musical and lyrical content. The album’s musical and lyrical content each play pivotal parts to the whole of the album’s success and will each be discussed in its own moment. The record’s production rounds out its most important elements and is also of note. It will be examined in its own right, too. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of Devildriver’s latest album. All things considered they make Dealing With Demons II some of Devildriver’s best work to date.
Dealing With Demons II, the follow-up to Devildriver’s 2020 album, Dealing With Demons, is among the best work the band has produced to date. The 34-minute album’s success comes in part through its collective musical content, as its current trio of singles has shown. Throughout the course of the album, the band’s familiar groove metal riffs are just as present as ever. At the same time, guitarists Mike Spreitzer and Alex Lee combine to incorporate some equally sharp black metal leanings into the arrangements at points. There is also a metalcore leaning incorporated into the arrangements at some points. Listening closely to the album, those leanings are actually put side by side at just as many points to make the arrangements all the more interesting. The sequencing of that collective musical content keeps things so interesting because it makes sure each arrangement is just different enough from its predecessor that no one song sounds like the last, even with the songs’ general stylistic approach being so similar to one another. The overall presentation of the record’s musical arrangements forms a solid foundation and gives listeners reason enough to hear the album.
The lyrical content that accompanies the album’s musical arrangements gives listeners even more reason to take in the record. This has already been proven through the singles that the record has produced. ‘This Relationship, Broken,’ for instance – the album’s latest single – centers on the all too familiar topic of a relationship at its end. This, according to front man Dez Fafara. He said of the song, “‘This Relationship, Broken’ explores the severance that happens between two long-time partners when they leave each other after years of turmoil.” This is a theme that is anything but alien to the musical universe. It is a topic that has been addressed more times than one person can count, but will still resonate with listeners even in this case.
On a separate note, ‘Summoning,’ which comes later in the album, is another key example of the importance of the album’s lyrical content. The song’s theme is meant to be an anthem, of sorts, of perseverance, another familiar theme to the rock and metal community. This is clearly inferred in the song’s lead verse and chorus, which state, “You say to yourself/Does the world even care/As you sit with your head in your hands in despair/It’s all so futile/The mistakes that we’ve made/This life is a turnstile/Straight to the grave!/It reminds you you’re alive/It reminds you fight to survive/You can’t fault death as the oceans collide/And everything around you starts to slide/You can’t fault death.” This is a clear statement about realizing how short life is and even as bad as things might get life reminds us all to push on no matter what. The song’s second verse follows in similar fashion with the same message. Keeping that in mind, this uplifting message will also resonate with listeners, even with its familiarity in mind.
‘I Have No Pity,’ which opens the album, is yet another example of the importance of the album’s lyrical content. This forceful presentation comes across as delivering a message of someone who has had enough of certain people’s negative actions and is not afraid to let those people know so, either. This is inferred right from the song’s outset as Fafara writes, “Hitched to the spark that’s Heaven sent/Down in the valley of sorrow’s lament/Prevailing winds tell tales of fire/Of battles waged and warriors’ desire/You’ve just stepped to the wrong embrace/My grip is cold/With an iron mace/I’ll shackle your hands and your legs/I’ll sit and dine as you beg/Lay down the law/You’re better left forgotten/Lay low/I’ll leave you to rot, then!/You’ve come out of bounds/Get the f*** out of here/I have no pity/I’ll hunt you down with the hounds/I have no pity.” Fafara makes no bones about things here. This comes across as great therapy for every person who has to put up with those people who do in fact step out of bounds and make others angry. The mention of “knives in the back” in the song’s second verse strengthens the noted inferred message even more as does the mention even later of the liars conspiring together. All things considered, the inferred message seems to really be the case even more here. To that end, if it is in fact the correct interpretation, then it is sure to resonate in its own way with listeners, showing even more the importance of the lyrical content in this album. When it and the rest of the lyrical content examined here is considered along with the rest of the album’s lyrical content, the whole makes fully clear why the record’s lyrical content is just as important to its overall presentation as the record’s musical content.
There is no doubt the collective musical and lyrical content does much to make the album worth hearing. It is just part of what makes the album worth hearing, even as much as it does to make the record so appealing. The production presented herein rounds out the album’s most important elements. As with so much metal, the songs here are all so heavy and intense, yet so rich. There is a lot going on between the instrumentation and vocals. Thanks to those responsible for the production, the balance of those items results in an overall presentation that creates a positive general effect just through this aesthetic element as the content itself. When the positive general effect that results from the production is considered alongside the overall content, the whole makes the album overall a complete success and welcome addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums.
Dealing With Demons II, the latest album from Devildriver, is an impressive new offering from the veteran groove metal band that fits well with this year’s new hard rock and metal offerings. That is proven in part through its musical arrangements. The arrangements offer more familiar groove metal leanings along with some clear growth from the band. The lyrical themes help the album’s appeal, too. That is because of their relatability and accessibility. The record’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation, ensuring a positive general effect from the work that went into balancing all of the songs’ instrumentations and vocals. Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the album. All things considered they make Dealing With Demons II a work that metal fans and Devildriver fans alike will welcome into their libraries.
Dealing With Demons II is available now through Napalm Records. More information on the album is available along with all of Devildriver’s latest news at:
Website: http://www.devildriver.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/devildriver
Twitter: http://twitter.com/devildriver
