There’s a scene in defunct medical comedy, Scrubs, where Lloyd the delivery guy gives JD (Zach Braff – whatever happened to him by the way?) a ride in his truck, asking him, “hey, by any chance do you like Speed Metal?” as he climbs in.
“I did not” comes JD’s defeated narration, as ‘Devil’s Son’ by DevilDriver comes thundering from the delivery truck’s speakers. Since that moment, the merest mention of the band’s name has never failed to elicit a brief smile.
Over the years, the band have cultivated quite the name for themselves on the live circuit. Their shows are reliably jaw-dropping occasions (especially at festivals), as giant pits are created by hundreds of people running around in a big circle, seemingly at the behest of one huge, broken Sat Nav, either throwing up more unbreathable dust than a nuclear explosion, or churning up more foul-smelling mud than a weekend in the Somme.
Amusing comedy moments and fearsome live shows aside, their albums tend to be rather more hit and miss affairs. There are always a handful of quality tracks, but also a certain amount of repetition and mediocrity. New album ‘Trust No One’ (Napalm) happily bucks that trend, at least slightly, by being more consistent than a lot of their other records. While DevilDriver are likely to remain as one of those bands you either like or you don’t, there’s certainly more than usual to be enjoyed here.
Opener ‘Testimony of Truth’ sounds like the result of a night of fun with In Flames and Killswitch Engage. ‘Bad Deeds’ has a high energy attack complete with a great middle section, some lovely blastbeats, and a sound not too dissimilar to Slipknot, while ‘My Night Sky’ starts with an almost Iron Maiden-esque intro before turning into something much sludgier, with a monstrous groove and a killer chorus.
“Go back to square one!” roars vocalist Dez Fafara on ‘This Deception’, and it sounds like he’s taking his own advice as this is straightforward and no-frills DevilDriver at its best. ‘Above It All’ is pretty good but also fairly throwaway, and just when you think the band might be slipping back into auto-pilot, up pops ‘Daybreak’ with it’s chunky riffs, mighty chorus, slightly off-kilter drums, and, well… everything really.
The robust title track is next and keeps up the momentum nicely. The Slipknot vibe returns for ‘Feeling Ungodly’, which although isn’t a bad song, isn’t a particularly great one either. This is followed by the equally unmemorable ‘Retribution’, and album closer ‘For What It’s Worth’ which after a subdued beginning, suddenly turns up the speed and cheerfully kicks your face off.
Two or three lacklustre songs aside, the only other downside on Trust No One is the artwork, a hopelessly executed and ham-fisted “wolf in sheep’s clothing” concept. However, dodgy album covers aside, and considering this is DevilDriver’s seventh album, it’s clear the band are not resting on their laurels here, delivering something that sounds fresh yet familiar, confident, and completely energized.
Somewhere out there, Lloyd the delivery driver is air-drumming and grinning maniacally once more, when in truth, he should really have both hands on the steering wheel.
7.0/10
GARY ALCOCK
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