Deville - A Step From Forever (Cover Artwork)

Deville

A Step From Forever (2003)

Devillemusic


The Canadian kings of palm-muting. It doesn't take too long to figure this one out, as the intro to Idle But Deadly smacks you with it right off the bat. Now, for those who have heard and loved their debut album, Pleasure To Burn, you can expect more of what that brought you, but with a more mature, less epifat sound. On that first release many people labeled them as a Strung Out/Good Riddance cover band, however on this album, such comparisons don't seem to flow. This album would better suit a sound that could be described as Strung Out/Thrice. Now that may not seem all that different, but the heavier more melodic side of this album will make you a believer. This album is darker and from the dead tree and eerie looking figures in the background on the cover you might expect as much. Now, again, this is one of those Canadian bands that you can't miss live. They have an intense show, and can definitely throw your balls to the wall.

Like I said, Idle But Deadly's intro will have you eagerly anticipating this album, however they seem to switch it up a little too much in this song and sort of kill the flow with the beat of the chorus. Now compared to the intro song, the flow and the transitions on Falling succeed tremendously. And just when you think the song stops too abruptly, these 5 Calgarians throw you the bridge (a repeat of the intro riff) and slap you in the face with a sick 16 second solo. This song was partly written by Terry Owens of the late Layaway Plan who joined the band in place of Dave for a while before Dave rejoined the band before recording this album. Honest is full of the palm muting you have come to expect, and has great lead rhythms. This is one of the slower songs on the album, and great guitar harmonies with a well written bridge. When Three Months begins after the fadeout ending to Honest you won't immediately think of Sadder Day off Pleasure To Burn, but this song is the perfect follow up. The emoish intro, which translates quickly into a punkier feel while retaining the original feel of the song. But this song is definitely not a Sadder Day copy. It's melodic and the guitars complete each other. Heaven Sent might possibly have the most well written/melodic chorus with a heavy breakdown to finish off the package. And this one throws down more killer guitar harmonies and a wicked solo. And if you haven't heard enough support for my argument that Deville are the Canadian kings of palm-muting, the intro, verse and chorus riffs to Charles will hopefully convince you. This is a song about a serial killer apparently and was posted on their website before the release of this album with a clip with some madman talking about eating brains. It was crazy, too bad for copyrights, otherwise it would probably be on the album. This song doesn't have exactly the dark feel I would hope for with a song about a serial killer, but the lyrics will give you enough of a visual into their version of said killer's mind. The intro to Driven is interesting, and the breakdowns leading to the verse will groove you something fierce. This is another song that changes grooves throughout and will throw you for a loop if you're not paying attention. It almost feels like no single riff is repeated more than once...almost. Hollow has a very melodic chorus with well placed harmonies and sounds possibly the most akin to anything from Pleasure To Burn. The title track brings you more of what you're looking for from this band: something that's not too much like anything else on the album, but still brings the mosh. And by the time Split Seconds rolls around, you're in disbelief that this album is almost over, however they bring you down gently with a slow outro fadeout.

Now with as much recognition as their first release gained them across Canada, this album was released independently since Hourglass Records (which was owned by Belvedere frontman Steve Rawles) closed its doors. This probably explains why Blair Calibaba didn't have a hand in this album. However, this album is no worse for the wear with a sound that remains raw and not overproduced. And in this day and age, it is getting seemingly harder and harder to find a vocalist that works well with the style of music being played but Rich's vocals compliment this band perfectly. His voice sounds good no matter what style they are trying to pull off. And on this album it is clear that they are trying to change styles constantly and push their own boundaries. Deville have carved themselves a name, but that name hasn't found a place in the jukeboxes of the world yet. With talent like this, it's only a matter of time.