ALBUM REVIEW: Outlaws ‘Til the End: Vol. 1 – DevilDriver

Diligence and perseverance are well rewarded within the metal community and DEVILDRIVER embody both in spades. Until now, they’ve never wavered far from their path of bruising, chaotic groove metal and it’s testament to their own drive that they’re constantly moving forward in a volatile and often unforgiving industry. Outlaws ‘Til the End: Vol.1, their eighth studio record, sees a slight deviation from their norm for the first time; a covers album of outlaw country songs that boasts a plethora of guest appearances.

Covers albums can often be put together half-heartedly, a means to whet the appetite of fans in between original material releases, but DEVILDRIVER (who are no strangers to the works of outlaw country artists like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson) have attacked this with the same vigour as they would any other record and the results are clear to see. Opening track Country Heroes is typically explosive, but the Western-esque opening, lap steel guitar solo and contrast in vocals between main man Dez Fafara and guest Hank Williams III shows a newer edge to proceedings and one which could benefit DEVILDRIVER on later albums.

The same holds true for A Thousand Miles From Nowhere, which sees guitarist Neal Tiemann take to the mic for the first time and his clean tones work well with Dez’s gruff, abrasive growls. There are plenty of highlights, but the standout track by a nose is Copperhead Road (featuring Brock Lindow from 36 CRAZYFISTS), a song with lots of swagger and drive that would sound brilliant travelling along Route 66 and does well to highlight the lyrical works of original artist Steve Earle.

Elsewhere, the aforementioned Johnny Cash is marked with two tracks in Ghost Riders in the Sky (featuring his son John Carter Cash, daughter-in-law Ana Cristina and LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe) and The Man Comes Around, which sees FEAR singer Lee Ving chillingly recite a verse from Revelations to begin the song before it erupts into a fast, near punk-rock anthem that The Man In Black would certainly approve of. Blythe also appears on Willie Nelson’s Whiskey River with bandmate Mark Morton, adding a lovely dash of fire to a track laden with grooves and hooks.

It isn’t a perfect record though. I’m the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised) comes across as a fairly standard DEVILDRIVER track even though it’s a cover and Dad’s Gonna Kill Me (bringing Burton C. Bell of FEAR FACTORY into the mix) marks a dip in quality towards the end of the album, but there’s enough quality on here that you can excuse the odd blip.

Much like the covers album brought out earlier in the year by LAMB OF GOD under their original BURN THE PRIEST moniker, Outlaws ‘Til the End: Vol 1 is a huge amount of fun as a listening experience and offers an intriguing insight into DEVILDRIVER‘s roots and influences. They’ll gallop off into the sunset towards their festival run in the summer on a high, and rightfully so.

Rating: 8/10

Outlaws ‘Til The End: Vol 1 is set for release on July 6th via Napalm Records.

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