So this is the part wherein I open with a disclaimer: Device drummer Kyle Harcott is a fellow Last Rite-r, as well as an all-around stand-up dude, except in Device where he probably plays sitting down because he’s not Rikki Rockett or anything. (Thankfully. He’d look ridiculous in that get-up. Even more so than Rikki, probably.)
Still, despite the otherworldly bond of brotherhood shared by all Last Rites contributors, I approached Device’s debut with ears biased only by the handful of positive reviews I’d already read, which was why I asked Kyle to send me a copy of this damned thing in the first place.
And here’s the part wherein I tell you that the word is true: Device rocks, and very much. This Canadian trio captures all the fun of traditional metal – soaring melody, catchy riff, driving tempo, tightly wound energy. These nine tunes hint at the genre’s giants, evoking the NWOBHM greats, classic epic metal, and 70s proto with equal aplomb. Opening number “Don’t Mess With Texas” sports a “Lights Out” groove and some falsetto screams courtesy of bassist / vocalist Mark LeBlanc – between those shrieks, the swagger, and the Texas theme, it’s like a mash-up of UFO and Dangerous Toys, and that is not at all a bad thing. Later tracks incorporate Slough Feg-ian dancing lead guitars, early Maiden swagger (witness the Di’Anno-era drive of “Lost My Soul”), Manilla Road prog-tinted fantasy… LeBlanc’s vocals soar and snarl and scream – he like all of Device benefits from an unpolished production that accentuates the energy and the vitality that metal should possess in spades. Sure, there are some minor hiccups – the volume is a slightly different between a few tracks, but this is a self-released affair, and I’m willing to overlook a few very minor technical hurdles in the wake of impassioned performance, and doubly so when the songs are as killer as “Lost My Soul,” “Enemy’s Blood” and the doom-paced swing of “Am I The Iceman?” (The question mark is theirs, not mine.)
And here’s the part where I tell you to listen for yourself and see how right I am, and then after you do, here’s the part where I remind you to surf on over to Device’s Bandcamp page and pick up the album for yourself.
Maybe it’s biased, but really it’s not: Last Rites staffers past and present have created some killer metal, from Pyrrhon to November’s Doom to Ectovoid to Immortal Bird and now to this. The force of metal’s glory days is strong in this one.
And here’s the part where I repeat myself: Device rocks, and very much.
