ALBUM REVIEW: Devil’s Got You Dreamin’ – Through Fire
Third albums are sometimes the trickiest to compose for many bands. If the band has established a style within the first two records, then there’s pressure to either continue this style with only subtle changes, or completely overhaul to maintain their fanbase and attract new listeners. For THROUGH FIRE, their previous two records did well on both the US Heatseekers and Indie charts, and now with their third record Devil’s Got You Dreamin’ they’re hoping for that same reception with their honest lyrics and darker tone. With this choice in direction, does the band succeed with heating up the playlists of new listeners, or is this a dream many people would rather forget?
Not only does Devil’s Got You Dreamin’ fit in within the typical criticism of its post-grunge subgenre, it exemplifies all the negative attributes at an almost offensive level, with a disjointed arc across the album containing simplified instrumentation and generic themes across the lyrics. To begin with, the album takes on a style reminiscent of LINKIN PARK mixed with a post-grunge sound. However, instead of combining it to elevate the band’s sound in a new and unique way, the combination feels derivative and generic, doing nothing but muddying the sound within the production.
Specifically in the early tracks of Karma Kills and Wake Up, it’s almost as if the band are trying to replicate the sound heard on Hybrid Theory. On top of this, the instrumentation is bland and not worth noting, to the point that most of the tracks blend into one another musicially, with only a couple of differences in about two songs. It feels especially messy in Prevail, where the guitar solo interrupts the music as opposed to being given the time to shine, making what should be a stand out moment become cluttered within the wash of ideas in the song.
In terms of the lyricism within the album, the writing feels basic and surface level when discussing themes of betrayal and breakups, disillusionment with society, and confusingly, love and happiness. The beginning and end of the album feel stuck together, as if written for two completely different projects. For example, the eighth track, Over The Influence, discusses a breakup and compares it to recovering from a substance addiction, which to be fair, is a unique and interesting take on the topic. The tenth track, Blindsided, is about feeling surprised at finding love with a special person. With only one song between the two, the topic change is sudden and doesn’t feel natural in its progression, especially as the majority of the previous tracks before Blindsided had discussed bad breakups.
On the positive side, songs like Heal Your Wounds show the intelligence and heart behind the band, with the vocals along with the lyrics presenting the impression that the band care about someone and the damage they have metaphorically faced. In addition, whilst the love songs at the end of the album are jarring with the rest of the album, they are nice in tone and feel like nurture and attention was brought into the album with these good few.
In the TV show Paradise City, THROUGH FIRE’s music is used as the sound of one of the band’s featured in the show, called OVER IT ALL. In the show, the band are considered ‘has-beens’ and their sound and members ridiculed for being out of touch with the current rock and metal style and scene. Unfortunately for the band, this is the same feeling throughout Devil’s Got You Dreamin’; only a few elements feel unique and creative, with the majority of the album coming across as derivative, uninspired, and at points, borderline offensive, especially within the lyrics of For The Last Time, where the themes seem to provide an almost toxic picture of a heartbroken ex. The album feels like an anthem of the ‘nice guy’, a stereotype of a male who views women as objects of desire that should belong to them and them alone, which is presented in a lot of the breakup songs. It’s almost juvenile in its writing, which is disappointing from a band who began with so much promise. Despite post-grunge not receiving the most positive reception amongst music fans, there are certainly better albums within the subgenre than this one.
Rating: 3/10
Devil’s Got You Dreamin’ is out now via Sumerian Records.
Like THROUGH FIRE on Facebook.