Devilfire – Black Soul Vendetta

Album review by; Mark

 

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Birmingham based melodic rockers Devilfire play live a couple of times and I liked their debut album, Dark Manoeuvres, with Waiting for a Rockstar being one of my all-time favourite rock songs. Their newest album, Black Soul Vendetta, is due for release on Friday 04 September 2020 and I was eager to hear how the band has progressed.

 

The album opens with “Cruelest Animal” which on first impressions is an odd choice of opening track. Typically the first track sets the mood and tempo for an album but this track is slower and less impactful than the tracks which follow.

 

Track 2, “Chasing the Pain”, is a collaboration with former Slash and Alice Cooper vocalist, Eric Dover and is a punchy rock track with some great guitar hooks and picks up the pace considerably. For me this should have been the opening track on the album as it better reflects the album as a whole.

Next we have “Living a Lie” and the guitars and bass line become heavier. The pace continues nicely from the previous track and this then continues into “Vendetta”.

“Dead Man Walking” is the next track and for me is a harder hitting song than the previous and probably my favourite track on the album. This is the song I could see myself singing along to at a gig.

 

Next we have “Dream Evil” with its orchestral string intro leading into classic rock guitars. It has an instantly catchy chorus and some great guitar work which leads almost seamlessly into the intro for “Justify”.

Next comes “Sell My Soul”, “You’re Gonna Break My Heart” “What You Pay For” which all follow the formula from the previous songs.

 

“Black Soul Bones” breaks that formula with a slower pace and seems to blend a multitude of styles into what for me is the stand out track on the album. There seems to be so man influences in this track which all come together to create a really good song “Decadence” picks up the pace again and this song demonstrates more great guitar work than previous tracks and was the song which got me tapping my feet the most.

 

The album finishes with “Wasn’t It Love?” the ballad on the album. Haunting guitars, heartfelt vocals and a classic rock guitar break all work to give this a great sense of emotion.

 

Overall the guitars and backline compliment Alex’s vocal style perfectly and all of the songs are of a high quality. Aside from “Black Soul Bones” and “Wasn’t It Love” for me there are no other stand out tracks on the album - they are all finely crafted and delivered but ultimately sound too alike. Perhaps a different order to the songs would have provided a better balance overall to the album and created a better dynamic?

 

For established fans of the band this album is a natural progression and accompanies Dark Manoeuvres perfectly. For new fans this is an upbeat and punchy rock album. This isn’t dirty or gritty rock and roll but well-honed and well-polished melodic rock. The musicianship is flawless and production values are amazing but I found myself missing that one song that I wanted to go back and listen to again and again.

 

3 out of 5 stars – high production values, highly polished melodic rock but needs more variation.

 

Devilfire are;

Alex Cooper on lead vocals

Baz Blackett and Kieran Topp on guitars

Jamie Downes on bass

Lars Wickett on drums.

Additional contributions from Ash Sheehan, Eric Dover, Marcia Lynette and Nick Jeavons.

 

Black Soul Vendetta is due for release on Friday 4th September 2020.

 

The band can be found at their official website:  http://www.devilfire.co.uk/

 

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