DevilDriver – “Trust No One” [Album Review]

When Californian groove metallers DevilDriver burst onto the scene in 2002 their arrival surprised a good percentage of the metal community. With all the grace of a sledgehammer to the guts, the Cali metal outfit were as far removed from frontman Dez Fafara’s previous band Coal Chamber as they could be. Well, fourteen years later and, despite Fafara resurrecting his spookycore band, DevilDriver are still major concern for one of heavy metal’s most recognisable frontmen.

The difference with DevilDriver in 2016 can be heard throughout every moment of their new album Trust No-One. Of course, the blueprint may be of sweat-drenched groove metal but within the thuggish delivery that has been a mainstay of the DevilDriver sound from day one, there are plenty of subtle twists to give the material its own personality.

You see, for every track like “This Deception” and “Above It All”, where the Cali-metallers bludgeon through a groove-filled blast of heavy metal, there are tracks like “Retribution” where the band expand the massive grooves to give it a darker, more menacing air. Let’s not ignore one thing though… the grooves… and Trust No One has those by the fucking bucketload. In fact, if you aren’t headbanging yourself senseless before the end of opener “Testimony Of Truth” then there is clearly something wrong.

Fafara’s recognisable tones roar across Trust No One perfectly complimenting the dark, brutal sounds his bandmates are pummelling out. A few years back, DevilDriver attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest circle pit but sadly fell short. With an album full of bangers like “Daybreak”, Trust No One should see these metal titans smash that record out of the park.

Trust No One Track Listing:

01. Testimony of Truth
02. Bad Deeds
03. My Night Sky
04. This Deception
05. Above It All
06. Daybreak
07. Trust No One
08. Feeling Ungodly
09. Retribution
10. For What It’s Worth

Run Time: 41:22
Release Date: May 13, 2016

Check out the track “My Night Sky”