It seems like with each successive release,
DevilDriver keep turning up the dial of heaviness. And on their fourth studio album overall, 2009's
Pray for Villains, the group continues plowing forward with this approach. Screams, growls, raging riffs, and impressively airtight drumming are all crucial ingredients to the
DevilDriver metallic recipe. Produced by former
Machine Head guitarist
Logan Mader,
Pray for Villains hits you like a ton of bricks from the get-go with the album-opening title track (and leadoff single) and never lets up, as evidenced by such brutal tracks as "Fate Stepped In" and "Forgiveness Is a Six Gun," among other dangerous ditties.
Pray for Villains confirms once and for all that
Dez Fafara has totally shed the nu-metal schtick of
Coal Chamber for the 100 percent pure headbanging fury of
DevilDriver. ~ Greg Prato