DEVILDRIVER: Pray for Villains

Produced by Logan Mader

Released: 2009

It's taken me a long time to warm to DevilDriver. As one of those who came through the 90s being subjected to the vapidity of Coal Chamber, you could perhaps excuse me for warily steering clear of anything with Dez Fafara's name on it at first. Now four albums in with DevilDriver, Pray for Villains is the heaviest and best thing he's done yet, thoroughly crushing the memories of him as the leader of one of the most reviled of all nu-metal acts.

Of course, with such an enormous personality out front, the rest of the band is often overlooked. While Fafara's vocals snap, snarl and growl his lyrics of retribution and rage, it's the other four guys in DevilDriver who are credited with the musical side. And with the shadow of Fafara's inglorious past always looming over them, DevilDriver has sometimes tried just too hard to bury it. The Last Kind Words was violent and relentless to a point where violence and relentlessness became the be-all and end-all; on Pray for Villains they ease off without toning things down. With Logan Mader at the desk, the band is directly tapping the vein of classic early 90s heavy groove metal. Think the catchy groove stylings of bands like Machine Head, Sepultura and Pantera, who would be proud of tracks like "Back With a Vengeance" and the title track. But this is a remarkably diverse album that also touches base with the Gothenburg-esque elements and the thrashy metalcore they've done before, only better, and occasional injections of punk like in the stomping "Another Night in London". The dual melodies are extremely enjoyable and while the soloing itself isn't particularly spectacular, there are moments like during "In the Cards" where they work really well.

If anything, it is Fafara who is the weak point. His lyrics verge on the simplistic at times and his vocals can be monotonous. That said, this is only a moderate criticism. Pray for Villains is a solid album of heavy, aggressive, catchy modern metal that could well be the precursor of the true genre classic that DevilDriver is yet to make.

1. Pray for Villains
2. Pure Sincerity
3. Fate Stepped In
4. Back With a Vengeance
5. I've Been Sober
6. Resurrection Blvd.
7. Forgiveness is a Six Gun
8. Waiting for November
9. It's in the Cards
10. Another Night in London
11. Bitter Pill
12. Teach Me to Whisper
13. I See Belief

Rating: 82%