Loss

Devil Sold His Soul

Devil Sold His Soul has a pretty special approach to metalcore and alternative metal. Their presentation is grand, epic, and has this life-affirming quality while still being incredibly heavy. This release is a little different though and sees the band pushing themselves further into emotional turmoil. Some of the material here is darker, heavier, and really lives up to the album's title. In addition, the band is working with two vocalists for the first time due to the return of original singer Ed Gibbs. Gibbs and Paul Green have very distinct vocal tones in both their singing and harsh vocals, and as they trade lines back and forth, they exhibit quite a bit of natural chemistry.

Tracks like Ardour and Beyond Reach are very familiar territory for the band with the thick rhythm guitars and the soaring guitar leads or string pads in the background. The second they come in, they are instantly catchy and groovy. The Narcissist is an example of the band getting really heavy here. There are no chime-y leads here to help save this track from the dark and angry pit it resides in. Green and Gibbs, show how unhinged they can get as they launch harsh words back and forth to each other. Gibbs' delivery gets even nastier on the track But Not Forgotten. When he hurls the line "there is no panacea," my throat becomes shredded just listening to it. Thankfully, the track resolves really nicely with a great piano and string outro.

Similar to the new Genghis Tron record, I did feel like some of these songs dragged on a little long. Many tracks reach the 6 minute mark and feature a few instrumental detours that don't feel super necessary. Witness Marks is one such example that was quite underwhelming overall, although, I did really like the sharp whammy'd guitar shots that appeared throughout the track. This record was also my first introduction to Ed Gibbs, and while I thought his performances were great generally, he does lean a little too much into his nasally tone at points. It isn't the most flattering tone in my opinion, but others might appreciate it more than me. This is my first experience with a Devil Sold His Soul full-length record and it is quite dense. It is possible that I haven't tuned into every single detail of the record, however, there were enough impressive moments to leave me quite satisfied with the result.