Album Review: Full Devil Jacket - Valley of Bones

Those declared dead live longer. At least that seems to be the case with «Full Devil Jacket«. After the Americans played at various big festivals at the beginning of 2000 and organized tours with greats like "Nickelback", "Creed", "Slayer" and "Slipknot", the band was on the verge of their big breakthrough. But vocalist Josh Brown's drug crash and guitarist Michael Reaves' death from cancer hit the band hard and led to a year-long disappearance. Now Brown and colleagues are back, drummer Keith Foster from the original formation, bassist Moos Douglass and guitarist Paul Varnick complete the line-up and the band is not lacking in energy. Josh Brown and his colleagues don't bother with gimmicks, they hit the ground running.

once lived «Full Devil Jacket» like in paradise, until it turned into a nightmare. In their early days the band toured with giants like Nickelback and Creed, Slipknot and Slayer, was billed at the Woodstock 99 festival, had a video clip on MTV rotation and had hit singles on the Hard Rock charts. In short, «Full Devil Jacket» stood on the threshold of the universe of international rock elites. Then lead singer Josh Brown overdosed on heroin and almost died. That was more than ten years ago, now in May 2015 «Full Devil Jacket» will release their second album «Valley Of Bones», which was produced by Justin Rimer (12 Stones). To define «Full Devil Jacket» musically, one has to mention the straight-line grooves and gripping hooks of their powerful hard rock and warmly recommend their songs to all those who have listened to bands like «Alice In Chains», «Pantera», «White Zombie» or «grain».

On "Valley Of Bones" you will find true stories, strong statements and brutally honest observations of life, faith, family and global power structures. Frontman Josh Brown comments on important and timeless questions about the state of our world from his own personal perspective and with all his experience. "When we write songs, they have to be absolutely authentic," he explains, "because I can only sing about something I believe in. In today's rock 'n' roll bands you hear the same lyrics as in the role models of my youth, but I can't find any real conviction in them. On the other hand, I have experienced and lived all the topics that I touch on myself. » With Brown's heroin overdose in 2002, the storybook start of a rock group that had hit singles like "Where Did You Go?" ended abruptly. and «Now You Know». After a long period of convalescence, the recovered Brown returned to the limelight as the singer/songwriter for the band Day Of Fire. The group's debut album was nominated for a Grammy and won the GMA Dove Awards Album Of The Year in 2005, as well as New Artist Of The Year and Rock Song Of The Year at Day Of Fire » were nominated. After a total of three successful discs, "Day Of Fire" withdrew from the public in 2010 for an indefinite period of time.

Full Devil Jacket - Valley of Bones

So the way was clear for a return of «Full Devil Jacket». The first reunion was to raise money for guitarist Michael Reaves, who was suffering from cancer. However, when Reaves died, Brown and drummer Keith Foster decided to re-form the band in memory of their late friend. "Mike was the reason why I make music today," says Brown, "he built me ​​up, he knew all the rules of the game. When we returned to the stage for the first time after a six-year hiatus to raise money for him, you could feel the sparks fly again." This also glows in Shredding guitarist Paul Varnick and bassist Moose Douglass, who are among the group's 2015 line-up. So «Full Devil Jacket» are back. And they present themselves stronger than ever before. "Valley Of Bones" is an album that combines the coolness of Down, the powerful, dark melodies of Alice In Chains and the modern rock attitude of Stone Sour in equal measure.

What certainly distinguishes the album is the variability, the dynamics of the tracks. As I said, there is the metal piece with a hardcore inlet as well as the rock ballad, the dead straight rock number or the mid-tempo burner. A total of three quarters of an hour of solid and playful rock! Josh Brown sounds a bit like Canadian Chad Kroeger, only his band plays the sound that Nickelback would have to make for me to be able to still hear the band today, because the ballads can also sound like «Paper Crown». But there are still some good tracks on the album. The song «Picturebox Voodoo» snarls at mainstream media and today's pop culture, while «Seven Times Down» proves to be an aggressive riff monster and «Paper Crown» exposes those whose openly aired swagger is in fact Hide inferiority complexes. You should also listen to the title track «Valley Of Bones» or the two ballads «The Moment» and «August». Also, 7xDown stands out a bit, as does Blood of the Innocent, which is my personal favourite.

«Valley of Bones» is a really successful comeback. "Full Devil Jacket" do what they were damn good at 15 years ago: hard, multi-faceted rock. «Valley Of Bones» often sounds like a journey through time, but it is in no way outdated or boring. It is precisely the mix of hard rock numbers and yet rather calmer tones like in the song "What If I Say" that make the album intense and full of energy. It bears witness to a band that, after a brilliant start, a disastrous crash and blows of fate, gets back on its feet and returns with even more energy and power. If «Full Devil Jacket» only offer half as much live as on this disc, then good night. Stages of this world, be warned! «Valley Of Bones» by «Full Devil Jacket» is a surprising and successful comeback, a really good one. Let's hope we don't have to wait another 15 years for the next album.

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tracklist

1. Killers
2. Valley of Bones
3. 7X down
4. The Moment
5. We got the love
6. What if I say
7. Blood of the Innocent
8. Picture Box Voodoo
9. Paper crown
10. August
11. Time in the Flames

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