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Roadrunner Records has a (nasty little) habit of re-releasing albums with bonus material often soon after the original record was released. See Trivium's Ascendancy or Opeth's Ghost Reveries for other recent examples. What bothers me most about this practice is that I usually buy an album soon after its release, if not upon the actual release date, so why shouldn't I be rewarded for being a loyal fan? Instead it's the Johnny-come-latelies who don't buy things immediately being rewarded for their patience, lack of funds, or being cheap. Or something. Anyhow, I actually paid for the regular edition of Devildriver's sophomore release, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand, and enjoy it very much. The original 12 songs killed from start to finish with but a few speed bumps along the way. To wit: on "Driving Down the Darkness" Dez Fafara's voice treads dangerously close to his work in Coal Chamber: "change this, change that" and other spots in the song are guilty as charged, though they are mercifully brief. "Hold Back the Day" also has a Coal Chamber-esque vibe in the "always darkest before the dawn" bit. Overall the album is a nice slab of modern Metal with nods to Death, Thrash, and Black Metal. This is not Nü Metal in any fashion, thankfully so.
On the re-release, nee Special Edition, there are several bonus tracks and videos. "Unlucky 13" and "Guilty As Sin" were recorded during the sessions for The Fury of Our Maker's Hand but didn't make the cut. The first of these two flirts with Cannibal Corpse (that little oscillating, groovy guitar part is quite similar to a part from a ~1999 Cannibal Corpse record) while the second of these songs possesses a massive groove, perhaps begging the question of their initial omission. "Digging Up The Corpses" is an outtake from the band's debut album that also appeared on the Resident Evil - Apocalypse soundtrack, and it sounds like a band finding itself. Or at least Dez finding himself since his vocals unfortunately invoke Coal Chamber at times. The three live tracks, recorded on tour in support of this album, were mixed by Andy Sneap and offer little to other than perhaps the most diehard fan. They do show the band's prowess in the live setting, I suppose, though are largely disposable. The DVD has 4 videos, which are okay. Oh, and there's new artwork. If you never checked out this album, the 13th and 14th tracks make it worth your while to track down the re-release. This is a really good record in any form.
| Tracklist |
| Disc 1: CD |
| 1. End Of The Line |
| 2. Driving Down The Darkness |
| 3. Grinfucked |
| 4. Hold Back The Day |
| 5. Sin & Sacrifice |
| 6. Ripped Apart |
| 7. Pale Horse Apocalypse |
| 8. Just Run |
| 9. Impending Disaster |
| 10. Bear Witness Unto |
| 11. Before The Hangman's Noose |
| 12. The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand |
| 13. Unlucky 13 |
| 14. Guilty As Sin |
| 15. Digging Up Corpses |
| 16. I Could Care Less (Live) |
| 17. Hold Back The Day (Live) |
| 18. Ripped Apart (Live) |
| Disc 2: DVD featuring music videos |
| 1. End Of The Line |
| 2. Hold Back The Day |
| 3. I Could Care Less |
| 4. Nothing's Wrong? |
: 74.58
| Buy other DevilDriver albums |
