Devil You Know –They Bleed Red

“Howard Jones was only good in Killswitch Engage; he practically made them famous!”

“Oh look, it’s Howard Jones and his band; I doubt they’d be any good!”

If anyone shares these sentiments when the words “Devil You Know” are uttered or read upon, all I can say is that they can piss off. When the super group announced its existence, most music fans jumped the bandwagon thinking that it would just be a Killswitch Engage 2.0 with Howard Jones at the helm. What they overlooked were the other prime members: drummer John Sankey (Devolved, Divine Heresy, Fear Factory) and Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish, Hiss of Atrocities). Once their debut, The Beauty of Destruction, came out, everyone was shocked because the band did its own thing. There is influence from all the bands the members were previously in, but it was surprisingly refreshing and new. Over a year later, they’ve got a brand new album out, They Bleed Red. But does it live up to its predecessor?

DEVIL YOU KNOW – The Way We Die (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

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Artusato said that Devil You Know wanted a heavier and more straightforward sound for They Bleed Red, and from pressing play that’s what you get. The intensity of the album is a key driving point, as “Consume the Damned” and “The Way We Die” unleash a deadly assault of anger, but what we also hear is how the band have evolved from their debut. For those who want to witness the band at their most devastating potential, “Shattered Silence” is worth a listen, as Sankey’s drumming just cuts through, along with Artusato’s riffs that are constantly unrelenting. “Let the Pain Take Hold” shows that the band isn’t just going all out aggressive; they need to have something to play on mainstream radio, and having this track is a massive bonus for the hope of being able to entice more fans in to listen to their work. This plays nicely with interesting acoustic parts on songs like “Broken By the Cold” to show that there is a softer side to the band, not to mention it allows Jones to showcase his showmanship skills more.

Unfortunately, there is a little thing that bugs me about the album. The issue I have is with Artusato’s playing, and it comes with the solos. There is no denying that he is a very skilled guitarist, but it just feels that when he shreds he does it for the sake of shredding, and not a cohesive effort to blend into the rest of the song.

Other than that, this album is a very solid evolution compared to The Beauty of Destruction. As a band, they’ve found out what works and been able to play that card to their advantage. They definitely are showing their critics that they aren’t a throw-away super group. These guys are serious about the level of work being produced, and hopefully, after the few wrinkles are ironed over, their next album will be more devastating than this one.

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Review by Connor Williams, RockRevolt Contributor