Devil To Pay
Thirty Pieces of Silver (CD) 2003 Benchmark
One of the great things about reviewing music in the realms of stoner and doom is the amount of excellent new music that crosses my desk. I can think of no other genres in which even rank beginners so consistently have worthwhile tuneage to get across, much less the music veterans. The bar is set pretty high alright, but sometimes I get a disc that shines like a magnesium flare at midnight, that's so much better than the average fare that I find myself recommending it to people like a broken record after just the first listen. Indianapolis would be a big city in many parts of the US, a magnet for travelling musicians. However, due to the proximity of Chicago and Detroit the city is often bypassed, and has thus developed a slightly insular music scene of its own. If Devil to Pay are any indication, some record label would be wise to jump all over them. The Devil boys have gathered together their eclectic hard rock and metal backgrounds to create a new classic sound which is mainly....hard rock and metal. And doom. Its hard to say exactly what it is, since their music seems to constantly renegotiate the boundaries between the genres, but it comes up smelling like a fine single malt whisky every time. Led by the John Garcia-esque vocals of Steve Janiak, Devil to Pay never misstep and there's not a bad tune on the whole album. The songwriting is fantastic, the music is neither too simple nor too mathy, the solos are just long enough, and the riffs are fat and thick. The only shortcoming for some might be that the album tends to be too heavily mid-tempo, but that’s not a problem for me. Since they're so consistently good, there's no point in calling out single tracks except to note that the group had the balls to put on an instrumental as the first song, and it works pretty well. After all, if it works live, why not put it first on the CD? This is blue collar (or is it black collar??heh) chugga chugga rock at its best. This in-your-face tuneage mixes up Sabbathy doom, metal a la High on Fire, the southern alcohol-fueled slam of Down, Corrosion of Conformity or Alabama Thunderpussy, and the classic groove of Unida and Roadsaw to create an up-to-date yet classic sound that seems to turn on everyone that hears it. Now if they'd just tour outside Indiana...	1. Mouthful of Spite 2. The Lamb 3. Dinosaur Steps 4. Whores of Babylon 5. Angular Shapes 6. Tractor Fuckin' Trailer 7. The New Black 8. Swarthe 9. Lowest Common Denominator 10. Toreador 11. Valley of the Dogs Approx. 49 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh
Cash Is King (CD) 2006 Lax Wax
Devil to Pay's 'Cash is King' is a perfect example of how America's Midwest, as exemplified by such medium-to-large sized cities as Indianapolis, are brimming with musical talent that would simply be overlooked if it were located in such traditional kultural centers as New York or Ellay. On this, their second album, the group has carved out a fine piece of turf on the shifting boundaries of stoner, rock, and doom, and they didn't need the help of any established culture mavens to do it. For Devil to Pay, it seems that a simple love of the finer things in hard music, combined with a lot of intelligence, has led them to this happy pass, and we're all the beneficiaries. The music is chock full of creamy distortion, played at a medium pace somewhere between stoner adrenaline and doom dirge, with first-rate musicianship. But it's the songwriting and lyrics that really set Devil to Pay apart from the herd. There is a type of songwriting genius at work here; there are just too many catchy, hokey, anthemic stomps on this record to write it off to luck or chance. And the lyrics! It's rare to see this level of intelligence and articulation this side of Lemmy, and I say that only half in jest. Seriously, the lyrics present a stern indictment of wealth and how it fuels the power of the few to shape society for the many. And although it may come across as brutal cynicism, it's really more a case of realism. It ain't pretty, but it's true! The band has taken the next step forward, which doesn't necessarily mean more refined. In fact, if anything, the sound is a shade more raw than their first full-length, 2003's '30 Pieces of Silver'. But for a contemporary take on Sabbath goes Purple with a Washington '88 chaser, you can't beat it. Is it flawless? Nah: the album is too long, and the songs, anthemic as they may be, blend together because the medium-paced tempo is too prevalent. And as far as anthems go, it's hard to see them ever beating their early single, 'Tractor Fuckin' Trailor,' for sheer brilliance. Still, you'd have to be a grinch indeed not to bow to the power of 'Cash is King' on its own terms. Like me, you'll probably want to add it to your year's Top 10.	1. Kill Everything 2. Little Horns 3. Shake Hands with Death 4. So Low 5. Belial 6. Born to Rue 7. Swallow the Fish 8. The Mountain Comes to Me 9. The Bottom Line 10. A King's Bounty 11. Over the Coals 12. Ripped from Your Womb 13. Yggdrasil 14. Niflheim Approx. 70 minutes
Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh