The Devil Rides Out - TheHeart and The Crown

Thu 29th Jul, 2010 in Music Reviews

Metal/Stoner rockers The Devil Rides Out have been slogging it out in the Perth scene for quite sometime now. They have released three EPs, played alongside the likes of Clutch, Monster Magnet, Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator and Shihad, plus they picked up a WAMi Award in 2009 for “Best Hard Rock Artist”.

The band, consisting of Joey Kapiteyn (vocals), Andrew Ewing (guitar/vocals), Brendan Ewing (bass/vocals) and Royce Uyen (drums) have worked hard to get to where they are and that hard work has culminated in arrival of their debut album The Heart and the Crown.

The performance and production on this album is testament to how far they have come as a band and how much they have grown as musicians. While some rock bands try to do too much in their first major release by throwing guitar solos left, right and centre, or try to be too clever, these guys haven’t. They have kept things simple and tight.

If you compared this album to any of their Volume I, II or III EPs you’ll notice that they’ve decided to go for a sound which is similar to Queens of Stone Age and Clutch. Now there is nothing wrong in using their influences to help them to define their own sound, but those who were drawn to the band for its metal leanings will probably hate this direction. Plenty of others will embrace it however, and if you do, have a bottle of bourbon and a sexy lady nearby because when you press play on The Heart and The Crown, you will be in for one devilish ride.

Watch It Burn and Broken White Line starts the album in style with some of good old fashion rock riffs, which are a credit to Andrew Ewing, his guitar playing on this album is first class. Hard Love feels like you’re at one of those seedy bars and all you want to do is cry into your drink, Inheritance demonstrates Kapiteyn’s lyrical talents with lines like “The fire in my veins, The wire in my blood, The ice in my drink, The vice in my grip”. The New Idle takes a pot shot at today’s Generation Y as well as slamming TV’ shows like Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and Talking About My Generation, while Phosphorous feels like you’re in one of those old western movies and you’re about to witness a good old fashion shoot-out between two gun slingers in the middle of the town.

The Devil Rides Out has crafted a very solid debut album. If you are looking for an album to rock out to, then this should be on top of your list. Overall The Heart and The Crown is very good debut from a fucking good rock band, well done!