DevilDriver - Beast

(Roadrunner Records)

DevilDriver are, for lack of a better phrase, purveyors of what could be called ‘rusty chainsaw’ music. It grinds and grunts at frenzied pace, and when it’s on a bit of downtime, it’s still pretty lethal. Beast may be a cringing album title, but it is a pretty apt one, with the sublime melee of ‘Dead To Rights’ and ‘Coldblooded’ doused in ripsnorting metal aplomb. Like a dusty mountainside however, these paths have been tread upon before – see the superior Lamb of God for divine ‘chainsaw’ inspiration – but there are enough gratifying moments here to see past the raw gristle.