Here’s a little secret; I’ve never listened to Devil Sold His Soul. They’re one of those bands that I’ve heard mentioned quite a lot but I’ve never actually heard them myself. I’ve never had a friend who’s played a song to me, recommended them or anything like that. That’s quite surprising, actually, considering one of my friends has this grey hoodie with a blue print of the logo on it…
With this in mind I take us on this journey (aka my review) of Devil Sold His Soul’s latest album ‘Empire Of Light’ which is their 3rd album after ‘Bless & Cursed’ back in 2010. From what I’ve heard, Devil Sold His Soul also take listeners on a journey with their ambient influenced post hardcore/progressive metal and after listening to ‘Empire Of Light’ I’m pretty sure I could have heard any of their songs and known it’s them. Such a unique sound, merging all of those together rather than having heavy sections and then an ambient section such as with bands like Misery Signals.
Vocalist Ed Gibbs helps to deliver the contrast of styles and situations with his shift between his raw throated screams and his high delving clean melodies. And I can only imagine the energy onstage. Personally, I do prefer the screams. They both work, but I prefer the aggression that the screams prevail and there can be plenty of ambience provided by the rest of the instrumentation.
Despite how slow some of the songs can be, they’re still pretty darn heavy. Sometimes simplistic chord progressions with just 3 changes sound unbelievably heavy when the drums are crashing away and the electronics and that other subtle layer to an already large sound.There’s something about this sound that Devil Sold His Soul have crafted that feels utterly triumphant and optimistic, despite coming from a metal/hardcore territory.
But don’t be alarmed. There’s plenty of moments that you’re going to bang your head to, although you’ll feel like you should be on top of a mountain, or on top of a pile of enemies after you’ve just defeated them all, or doing something else that shows bravery, heroics and courage.
Like I said before, I didn’t know Devil Sold His Soul, but I’m certainly glad that I do now. And I’m pretty sure my friend will enjoy this album.
4/5
‘Empire Of Light’ by Devil Sold His Soul is out now on Small Town Records.
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Words by Mikey Brown (@MikeyMiracle)
