Devilinside Volume One

While I'll be the first to admit that metalcore has become little more than a shell of its former powerhouse self as it was first imagined by bands like Integrity and Turmoil, I don't necessarily think that the best way to fix things is by reliving the early 90's in all their dropped-D glory and repetitive riffing. Devilinside seems to have made it their mission to remind people that Sepultura and Machine Head really were great and that their musical legacy is still somehow viable. Unfortunately, it's been a decade since this sound was pioneered and it just doesn't seem quite so fresh anymore. Their debut album "Volume One" seems to insist that there will be more where this came from, but hopefully Devilinside will rethink their musical approach before recording again. It's not that I don't like this sort of music -- although I did get into metal slightly after these bands had hit their peaks -- it's just that these things had their time and place, just as Slayer and Iron Maiden had theirs. Anytime a band shamelessly copies a style, no matter how well, without adding something significant of their own, I am always unimpressed. The members of this band were previously in Disembodied, an act which many would argue were pioneers in their heyday. While I'm (somehow) not particularly familiar with their work, it seems like all their inventive spirit must have gone into their previous projects because, production aside, this could be a carbon copy of any number of early 90's metal records. So if you aren't familiar with the sound I've been talking about, here's the gist: Chugging, heavily distorted guitars combined with high pitched squeals over thundering chunky bass and relatively simple drum patterns. This all adds up to something primal, brutal and ultimately a little stupid. In order to give the album a flowing structure, Devilinside has added interludes between nearly every track and expanded what would have been a fairly standard 14 track metal record into a 23 track muddle of half-completed ideas. Perhaps in all their efforts to produce something authentic and cohesive, they checked their creativity at the door. Additionally, the occassional clean singing definitely could have been omitted. Anyone who lived through the 90's once had to hear enough of this garbage. Let's not rehash the bad stuff too. Bottom Line: I'm as guilty as anyone of falling for nostalgia but this record just didn't do it for me. Perhaps it was the fact that this sound was done to death when it was around that keeps it from appealing to me now. Maybe I just don't care enough about it in the first place to be interested in its revival. In any case, Devilinside's "Volume One" has been one of the most underwhelming releases to pass across my desk this year. There are certainly moments that stand out and even ones that shine, but this album just isn't going to find its way back into my CD player any time soon.