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Devil's Train: Ashes And Bones

The third album from Devil`s Train and if their somewhat hyperbolic press release is to be believed they are Europe`s answer to Black Label Society and the Dead Daises. Now that`s a lofty claim to be sure, and can be one that has the possibility to backfire spectacularly.

The band are into their tenth year with two fairly well received albums to their name, both of which I found to be palatable offerings. The band comprises of RD Liapakis, drummer Jörg Michael, bassist Jens Becker and finally guitarist Dan Baune who have all done time in various bands prior to this project. The listener is treated to 11 tracks of fairly authentic sassy hard rock, oh and a cover of Cameo`s `Word Up'...but more of that later, and is for the most part a decent enough record.

The lead off track `The Devil and The Blues` is a thick, muscular number, and the same can be said of much of what follows, there`s the adrenalized `Girl of South Dakota`, the smokiness of the title track, and `More` comes across like something that wouldn’t sound out of place on an early Aerosmith record, with a riff that Perry and Whitford would be proud of.

The band can mix it up occasionally, there`s the funkiness of `Rock and Roll Voodoo Child` that brings much needed to colour to the bands musical palette, and the aforementioned cover version of `Word Up` is a straight forward rock rendering of this classic, and doesn’t really add anything to these ears...a little pointless really. The bands original material is certainly strong enough without having to resort to covers. The production is suitably big and bold yet with a clarity that gives each musician a chance to shine.

So, overall though this is an album that is certainly high on energy and grittiness with the band having a firm grasp of what’s needed to make a record that will most definitely appeal to fans of the bands mentioned earlier.


Track Listing
1. The Devil & The Blues
2. Girl Of South Dakota
3. Rising On Fire
4. You Promised Me Love
5. Ashes & Bones
6. More
7. In The Heat Of The Night
8. Smell Sex Tonight
9. Rock & Roll Voodoo Child
10. Hold The Line
11. Man With A Gun
12. Word Up (Cameo Cover)

Added: June 29th 2022
Reviewer: Malcolm Smith
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 765
Language: english

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Devil's Train: Ashes And Bones
Posted by Ben Collins, SoT Staff Writer on 2022-06-30 02:19:37
My Score:

The third full length album from German group Devil’s Train is a classic record that pays tribute to the classic sounds of what came before, while still forging new and innovative textures to the genre. The band consists of ex Saxon, Steep Prophet, Lost Sanctuary and Running Wild members so they are no strangers to the genre and are clearly showing no signs of losing sight.

The album has a mix of faster heavy tracks like “More” and “Girl of South Dakota” to more mid-tempo rockers like “You Promised me Love” and “Rising on Fire” all tracks that include aggressive drums, ripping guitar solos and powerful riffs that drive the track behind concise choruses and vocals that never seem out of place musically and blend the accompaniment perfectly. With the mix of multiple faster, mid-tempo and ballad-like tracks the flow of the album keeps you engaged and intrigued to what type of sounds come next.

The only aspect of the album I find that took me out at times was the generic-ness of the lyrical content and the dreadful decision to put a Word Up cover to finish the album. I feel at times the lyrics were basic and could benefit greatly from some more innovations in that area. However, as a whole this is a gritty, kick-ass hard rock album that keeps me looking forward to more from the group.



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