Devil You Know – “The Beauty Of Destruction” [Album Review]

It’s been just over two years since Howard Jones parted ways with US metalcore titans Killswitch Engage and while his former band have been shredding away with former singer Jesse Leach, Jones has been quietly working away on his new band Devil You Know, readying themselves to unleash their debut offering, The Beauty Of Destruction, to a fanbase who are probably quite intrigued to see what his next move is.

Well, with a crew of established (if relatively unknown) musicians, Devil You Know waste no time getting down to business with the clinical, groovy opener “A New Beginning”. A big booming statement from the former Killswitch frontman, it comes as no surprise that this sounds like a band whose members have earned their stripes working with, amongst others, industrial metal mob Fear Factory and deathcore slammers All Shall Perish. Continuing on, huge epic vocals from Jones litter the more commercially friendly “My Own” while “Seven Years Alone” is another thundering, clinical slab of modern metal.

Turning attention away from the quality, pristine sound of his band and delving deeper into Jones’ lyrics, it would be easy for him to use the band and album as a platform to take a shot at his former bandmates but it’s nice to hear Jones hasn’t taken the easy option, instead delving into his own personal demons for songs like the haunting “Crawl From The Dark”.

While it would probably keep his fans happy, it would be a predictable and disappointing move for Devil You Know to sound like rehashed Killswitch Engage so it’s satisfying to hear the vocalist turning his hand to something as impressive as this. Blending personal lyrics with heavy yet accessible modern metal, the imposing frontman has delivered something that has been well worth the two year wait.

Track Listing:

01. A New Beginning
02. My Own
03. Embracing The Torture
04. For The Dead And Broken
05. Seven Years Alone
06. It’s Over
07. Mind Insane
08. Crawl From The Dark
09. The Killer
10. I Am Nothing
11. Shut It Down
12. As Bright As The Darkness

Running Time: 47:06
Release Date: Out Now

Check out the song “Seven Years Alone”