I actually kind of like Dez Fafara. I have since I was a teenager, even though I really did not care for Coal Chamber, Fafara's first band, I thought his voice was pretty good. I always wished he would focus on more metal projects than the nu metal style of Coal Chamber.
Enter DevilDriver. I actually didn't hear this band until their second album, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand, probably because of my disdain for Coal Chamber and the fact that their first album sounded a lot like later Coal Chamber. There were some very good songs on that album and it was infectious. I do believe that it was a lot more metal, but the band still had a little growth to do.
This is DevilDriver's third album, and the album that got the band into the Metal Archives. I can see why, as it is a lot more focused on groove metal with some melodic death metal thrown in for good measure. Most of the nu metal elements have been stripped away and replaced. However, it is not as catchy as their previous album, and this is unfortunate.
Dez sticks to his growled vocal style that I have always liked. There are no clean vocals in the entire album, which is good because his clean voice from the Coal Chamber days is horrible. The riffs are decent and reasonably catchy with some fine guitar leads thrown in at various points in the proceedings as well as some surprisingly decent guitar solos. As I said earlier, the music is more groove-oriented with some melodic death metal as well. The most intriguing musical part is the end of the album with a somber organ leading to the conclusion.
Ultimately however, this album is not as good as their previous album because it's just not as memorable. There are a few decent songs, but nothing that rises to the level of "Grinfucked", "Hold Back the Day", and "Before the Hangman's Noose." "Bound by the Moon", "Horn of Betrayal" and "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" are the highlights.
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