Review: Devil You Know – The Beauty of Destruction

Artist: Devil You Know
Album: The Beauty of Destruction
Rating: 10/10

At the beginning of 2012, if you were like me, you were probably distraught about the fact that Howard Jones had decided to part ways with Killswitch Engage. However, Jesse returned to his throne and proved that he is the better fit for KsE, leaving Jones to pursue other musical endeavors. I, like so many others, heard rumors around mid 2013 that a new project was in the works containing Francesco Artusato, John Sankey and, of course, Mr. Howard Jones himself. This seemed as though it was metal’s wet dream but I decided to pursue further info, later being confirmed by Sankey via my personal FB page, which was nuts. The idea of these guys putting music out together was nothing compared to what was in store aurally. On October 24th, 2013, we had our first taste of just what this band could do in the form of their demo for “Shut It Down”. This impressed me pretty greatly, but there was more to come. On March 5th, 2014 the band released their debut single “Seven Years Alone” which saw the return of the incredible vocal abilities that we have seen previously from Jones, only taken to the next level. Shortly after that, the band announced their debut album, The Beauty of Destruction, would be unleashed upon the masses on April 29th, 2014 via Nuclear Blast Records. I was saying, even before I heard the album, that I had a feeling that it would stand among my top albums of the year — A bold claim for such an early release date — but I stand by my word.

The album explodes open with “A New Beginning” and reminds you of the ferocity behind these 5 gentleman (adding, of course Roy Lev-Ari (Hissing Atrocities) and Ryan Wombacher (Bleeding Through) have when they are combined into one unstoppable musical machine! That ferocity continues in tracks like “Seven Years Alone”, “Shut It Down” and “A Mind Insane”. What surprised me most is how amazing Jones’ clean vocals have gotten, evident in tracks like the haunting “It’s Over”, “I Am the Nothing” and “As Bright As the Darkness”. As Jones has stated in interviews, if he went through it in his time since leaving KsE, it’s written about here and this album is truly Jones wearing his heart on his sleeve lyrically. Artusato’s incredible guitar skills are displayed masterfully in each and every track, along with Sankey’s power behind the skins!

Devil You Know is a musical force to be reckoned with and it’s not hard to see why! If you’ve yet to check out anything from these fine 5 gentlemen, get on it! Start by checking out the music video for “Seven Years Alone” below! In any case, be sure to pick up your copy of The Beauty of Destruction out now on Nuclear Blast Records!

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