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Beast (DevilDriver album)

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Untitled

Beast is the fifth studio album by groove metal band DevilDriver. It was released on February 22, 2011 in the US.[1] It is also their last album to feature longtime bassist Jon Miller who left in 2011.

Recording and production

Beast was recorded at Sonic Ranch studios in Tornillo, Texas;[2] and was produced by Mark Lewis (All That Remains, Trivium, The Black Dahlia Murder) and will hit retail via longtime label Roadrunner Records on February 22, 2011.

“The record is extreme,” vocalist Dez Fafara told Revolver magazine. “And it attacks from start to finish. If you liked [2007's] ‘The Last Kind Words’, this is like that on steroids and crank, driving a Buick Skylark 200 miles an hour straight to Vegas.” “I felt like I was waking up and experiencing a moment of clarity that brought out all these pissed off, negative emotions,” Fafara said of making the album. “It’s an all-out release of pain. “It’s been a beast of a year and a half, and it’s still going,” he added. Regarding the new album’s musical direction, drummer John Boecklin stated, “It’s interesting to me — it’s not the fastest shit we have done, nor the slowest, [but it] just [has] lots of groove. But to me, when people say ‘it’s got groove,’ I think it’s a nice way of saying simple and boring these days. We wanted to avoid this. “Our record has a great contrast of dark riffs, stomp bouncing drums with the right amount of blasts and double bass, and outstanding vocal delivery from Dez that takes it past your average approach of the metal attempt. I’m not talking about reinventing the wheel or nothing. I just think our new album sits in its own corner from any of our other albums.” The band recorded 14 songs during the "Beast" sessions, with 12 tracks making the standard version of the CD and all 14 songs appearing on the special edition.

The special edition also includes the band's documentary "You May Know Us From The Stage" (shot by filmmaker Daniel J. Burke, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne) and official music videos spanning DevilDriver's career thus far.

Promotion and release

The first single "Dead To Rights" was released January 10, 2011.

The online Beast E-Team created by Daniel Wells and Sean Smith was mostly responsible for crashing Roadrunner Records systems on Monday, January 10, 2011, when the first single Dead To Rights was released for download.

A second track, "Coldblooded" was posted on the 28th January.

On 31 January, a new track "Bring The Fight (To The Floor)" was posted though Revolver magazine as a "Revolver Bootleg series".[3] Revolver also interviewed Dez Fafara about the song, and this is what he said:

"Two things, really. When you’re tired or someone is running their mouth, so you say, "Fuck it. Let’s bring this fight to the floor…" and the obvious "Get in the pit."[...] "The chorus was the first; the inspiration was the same as above."[...] "Lyrically, this thing poured outta me. The record itself had some trying moments."[...] "Feedback about the record has been great and we are all pleased, as we worked very hard on this effort."

The French site jeuxactu.com got the exclusive for "Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)", another track from the album the 4th February.[4]

The metal specialized site MetalSucks got an exclusive to the music video of the first single "Dead to Rights" the 9th February,[5] it's the first music video from the new album.

Another song, "You Make Me Sick" was made available for streaming the 14th February via Blabbermouth!.[6]

"Alt Press" got an exclusive stream of the track "Blur" the 16th February, frontman Dez Fafara said about the song:

"This track is simple [and] to the point: [It's about] when you walk in the bus or backstage to the usual vampiric atmosphere of people you don't know, drinking your beer, smoking your herb, monopolizing conversation as if it were their house and you wished they would all take a long walk off a short pier and disappear. The line 'I don't know you but I fucking hate you' says it all. Get the fuck out and stay out, you groupie lush!"[7]

The whole album was made available for streaming via DevilDriver's official Myspace the 18th February, 4 days before the album's release.[8]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Dez Fafara; all music is composed by Mike Spreitzer, Jeff Kendrick, Jon Miller and John Boecklin, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Dead to Rights"4:53
2."Bring the Fight (To the Floor)"3:33
3."Hardened"5:46
4."Shitlist"4:04
5."Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)"4:20
6."You Make Me Sick"5:18
7."Coldblooded"4:06
8."Blur"4:58
9."The Blame Game"4:00
10."Black Soul Choir" (16 Horsepower cover)5:07
11."Crowns of Creation"4:55
12."Lend Myself to the Night"4:01
Total length:55:01
Special Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Lost"3:36
14."Fortune Favors the Brave"5:30
15."Grinfucked" (Live)4:06

Special Edition bonus DVD

  • You May Know Us from the Stage
Full-length film chronicling Devildriver's history from day one.
  • Music videos
  1. "Not All Who Wander Are Lost"
  2. "Clouds Over California"
  3. "Pray For Villains"
  4. "Fate Stepped In"
  5. "Another Night In London"
  6. "Dead To Rights"

Charts

Beast sold a little over 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart.[9]
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[10] 42
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums[10] 10
U.S. Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums[10] 2

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
metalholiclink
MindOverMetal.orglink
lordsofmetal87/100 link
Thrash Hitslink
Allmusiclink
Voice Of Rocklink

The album received a positive review of 8.8/10 from the Metal magazine Metalholic, with James Baysinger stating: "One thing about DevilDriver, their style may not change much, and you know what you're gonna get, but it still kicks your ass every fucking time. That said, the intensity and anger of Fafara seem to have increased to a higher level in this album. Beast is full of extreme, harsh lyrics. Fafara, who says he was going through a dark time when he wrote this record, also had to move in with friends for a few weeks due to wildfires and attributes these as other factors in the album's angrier works." He concluded, "Overall, this album is a major step forward for DevilDriver and they should enjoy even more success than they did with 2009's Pray for Villains. And that record was pretty badass! Beast pounds your brain from beginning to end and there is no slowing this locomotive down. The added brutality should bring DevilDriver even more death metal fans as the Beast is truly unleashed upon the eager souls of millions of fans. And the rest…well, I guess they are just grinfucked! Beast is a masterpiece of death metal brutality!"

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "DevilDriver 'Beast' Unleashed". October 25, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  2. ^ BLABBERMOUTH.NET – DEVILDRIVER: Another New Song Available For Streaming – Feb. 14, 2011
  3. ^ Revolver Magazine
  4. ^ DevilDriver: le titre "Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)" en écoute (exclu mondiale)
  5. ^ VIDEO PREMIERE: DEVILDRIVER’S “DEAD TO RIGHTS”
  6. ^ BLABBERMOUTH.NET – DEVILDRIVER: Another New Song Available For Streaming – Feb. 14, 2011
  7. ^ Exclusive Stream: DevilDriver’s “Blur” – Alt Press
  8. ^ DevilDriver
  9. ^ BLABBERMOUTH.NET – DEVILDRIVER's 'Beast' Cracks U.S. Top 50 – Mar. 2, 2011
  10. ^ a b c Beast – DevilDriver | AllMusic
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