Devilinside Prelude

Before Ferret Records became the high-ranking firm it currently is, the label was merely a tiny home to a few great bands including New Jersey’s For The Love Of and Minneapolis’ Disembodied, both of whom had a bigger impact on the metal bands currently overtaking the hardcore scene than a lot of newcomers would like to believe. Because Ferret now has bigger priorities than to rehash lukewarm memories of the irregular fan base and second-rate distribution that plagued many independent labels in the mid-nineties, those bands’ releases are way out of print with no plans of reissue in the foreseeable future. It is true that the musical tides are evolving and the style that those bands pioneered could possibly come across as dated to someone who only tuned into the hardcore scene recently. Regardless, there is one band that carries on the fabled legacy of Disembodied, and one band only. Bringing with them all of the unrest that ended their former unit, Devilinside already experienced drastic member changes prior to even releasing this four-song EP (which was actually recorded in late-2002), changes that would normally decimate a young band. Having lost not only both a guitarist and bassist but also their original vocalist Aaron, Disembodied’s vocalist ironically enough, Devilinside made the best move they could by recruiting former Collapse frontman Jaime Gonzales to handle mic duties. Possessing expertise in the realms of sheer emotion, range, and tone that is leaps and bounds ahead of what Aaron was capable of achieving with either band, Gonzales is the key ingredient in achieving the balance that somehow eluded Disembodied for its entire existence. Then as now, Disembodied founders Joel Andersen and Tony “Tubes” Byron pay homage, with every riff, to the heaviest American-made sound since the thrash era; that of mid-nineties down-tuned groove metal as established by Machine Head, Sepultura, Obituary, Fear Factory, and the outcast Swedish kings of musical demolition, Entombed. While many of the aforementioned bands’ groundbreaking and brutal approaches were often trimmed down and rehashed by thousands of pathetic nu-metal bands worldwide in search of a quick buck, the boys and girl of Disembodied bled the style and the severe riffs from each release to the next were corroboration enough that they actually digested what those landmark Roadrunner bands had intended. Far too easily have Machine Head and Sepultura been swept under the rug after having forged the sound that effectively dethroned Pantera as the original kings of groove metal. It is a sound that few bands have had success in replicating with good taste. Unlike most trend followers, Anderson and Byron shamelessly stuck with what they knew best and are now the only band in the hardcore scene still proud to carry the torch of groove metal. And unlike most of the guys you grew up with who now sport women’s jeans, Von Dutch mesh caps, aviator glasses, and a Euro-haircut, Devilinside remain true with their timeless regular jeans, metal shirts and baseball caps. Fundamental in every way, Devilinside bring the rock like you wish their fellow Statesmen Martyr AD still did. A band who once held the Disembodied torch and were running with it nicely before they dropped it and ran to their European metal collection for inspiration, Martyr AD’s recent conversion into a generic Swedish melody/mosh silhouette was disheartening but simultaneously beneficial for Devilinside who are now the only hope that Disembodied’s fans can bank on. Bottom Line: Everything about this EP is brutal and with an album set to be released this summer, Devilinside are arduously reviving the mid-nineties groove metal sound that most bands are too afraid to touch after its regrettable influence on nu-metal. These guys do it well, and the sick patterns that carry each song offer no less than constant headbanging material for the flocks of this style who still exist and will hopefully only increase as Devilinside begins performing these catchy songs to curious crowds everywhere. If you weren’t around when Machine Head and Sepultura swept the nation, you may not be able to relive the movement, but its uncompromised sound and feel is represented in full by Devilinside.