devildriver - the last kind words

when bmg did that re-issue campaign for devildriver's roadrunner years, i bought three out of five and never really pursued to get the remaining records. it was not like i didn't want them, they were just not high on the list. that changed last christmas.

i put one on my wishlist and my mother-in-law gave it to me - thanks a lot. a pretty neat album "last kind words" is. it is about to become my second favourite, right after "the fury of our maker's hand". the colour-way is really nice - love them split colours! originally released in 2007. bmg. 2018.

devildriver - s/t

devildriver again. this time with their self-titled debut and its first vinyl edition. i remember when i was listening to bands such as korn, system of a down or deftones there was another band on heavy rotation in my discman. coal chamber and their three records got a lot of playtime and i was pretty disappointed when they called it a day in 2003. almost in the same breath vocalist dez fafara intorduced his new band - devildriver.

back in 2003 social media wasn't big at all. if one was lucky, record labels offered mp3 downloads of one or two singles. so i was eagerly waiting for my favourite metal show on music television to watch the video for "i could care less", the first single of the album. when the album finally dropped, a friend of mine bought it and i got a burned cd copy. i was playing it a lot and bought my own original cd copy years later. therefore it was really a no-brainer for me to pick up this vinyl version.

after i listened to the record from start to finish, my impression was not too overwhelming. i mean, still i could sing along and knew the breaks and solos but the album didn't age that well. it's still a solid debut with one or two real hits but in comparison to "the fury of our maker's hand", one feels that the band needed this first album to find their own identity. a must have for any remote sympathiser of devildriver, anyway. nice vinyl edition that comes with single sleeve, printed dust sleeve and slick white with brown splatter vinyl. 1500 copies made. bmg. 2018.

devildriver - beast

the next album i bought from the devildriver re-issue catalogue was their fifth full length called "beast". it was the last of theirs which i obtained when it came out. never listened to any tunes after "beast". maybe i will have to rethink this. anyway, i always thought that this album from 2011 was a splendid one. again, devildriver could not make a record without one or two fillers but the overall quality of "beast" is remarkable.

as much as i like to hear the band's recorded material, their three live performances i saw so far (club and festival shows) have always had a very bad sound. they were a complete blur and dez fafara's voice sounded so weak. maybe this was all due to a drunk soundman or something but i rather spin one of their records than attend a devildriver live gig again. just like with "the fury of our maker's hand" the re-mastered album is a pleasure for the ears.

back in the day i bought the digipak cd version which came with a black and red coloured cover. i am delighted to see that bmg went for the regular cd version cover with the lovely purple and green colour theme. they went above and beyond with the vinyl colour-way and came up with a sugar sweet merge pattern. what beauties those two discs are, aren't they? the gatefold is made in a different fashion from the cargo/roadrunner first pressing. the lyrics are printed onto the inner gatefold and not on printed dust sleeves. 1500 copies made. bmg. 2018.

devildriver - the fury of our maker's hand

another record, another re-issue. well, not quite. devildriver's sophomore album "the fury of our maker's hand" was released in 2005 on roadrunner records as a cd only edition. to this point it was never pressed to vinyl, so actually one could call this first press. but let's not get too technical. back then i bought the cd and while their debut blew me away, "the fury..." left a deeper impression on me. there are a few songs on the album that i consider as the best melodic death metal pieces, i have ever listened to.

therefore it was out of the question that i was going to buy the re-issue as soon as they were announced. i pre-ordered my copy at jpc.de and the order went down as smooth as can be. my copy arrived in perfect condition. when i dropped the needle on it for the first time, it was the first spin of the album in years and i was suprised at how good i still knew all the details of the songs. to me it aged pretty well. still, not every song is pure gold but i don't recall a single devildriver album without a few weak spots.

nevertheless, "hold back the day", "sin & sacrfice" or the title track are unbelievably strong efforts and justification enough to buy the record. the re-master sounds awesome, i was pleasantly surprised at the thick sound of the vinyl - real good job. i loved the artwork in cd format already but in vinyl size the colour gradient is even sweeter. the vinyl colour itself is the perfect match. semi-translucent orange with black and blue splatter out of 1500 copies. lovely album and vinyl edition. bmg. 2018.