Beast : Special Edition ［CD+DVD］

Although he was once the leader of makeup-wearing nu metallists Coal Chamber, singer/screamer Dez Fafara has opted to keep things 100 percent aggro/extreme metal with DevilDriver, a band that reached its fifth release overall with 2011's Beast. DevilDriver's roster consists mainly of dudes with long stringy hair, manly-man facial hair, and tattoos -- and, unsurprisingly, the group's music goes hand in hand with its look throughout Beast, as the album is a nonstop barrage of screaming, growling, riffing, and rat-a-tat-tat drumming. And the song titles certainly reflect the ferociousness of the music, as exemplified by "Bring the Fight (To the Floor)," "Hardened," "Shitlist," "You Make Me Sick," and "Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)." You can't fault DevilDriver's commitment to staying true to extreme metal, and refusing to budge an inch. But as is the case with many other extreme metal bands, it is only a matter of time until monotony starts to rear its ugly head -- how far can you push the heavy factor before things start to tread on "same-sounding" territory? And to a certain degree, DevilDriver fall victim to this. That said, there are moments when a few different "shades" of heavy are detected, including the beginning of the aforementioned "Shitlist" and the album-closer, "Lend Myself to the Night." However, for those who like excuse-free metal cranked to ten from beginning to end, DevilDriver have assembled one gnarly Beast for you. ~ Greg Prato