Devour - "Devour" LP (Sorry State)

Devour - “Devour” (Sorry State Records)

Raleigh, North Carolina’s Devour were supposed to be the “new Cross Laws band” but this record is a whole different beast than anything the now-classic Cross Laws released. The man, the myth, the legend Daniel Lupton (Logic Problem, Cross Laws, Sorry State, etc) plays guitar in this band and the cover is a great shot of him with a not-so-subtle nod to Double Negative. This record is definitely more metal than anything else this group of punks generated, but it’s not any less punk. It drives the thin line between being a tad too Japanese, while still managing to not sound like they WANT to be Japanese. “Wasted Dream” or possibly “Wind of Pain” were probably on when these songs were being written, but it doesn’t sound like they were trying to mimic or even pay homage to the classic hardcore of the East. Is it a crossover record ala “Animosity” or is it just another bunch of punks writing hardcore with the occasional bent chord?
All of the pussyfooting about what this record sounds like aside it really is a ripper. The brief moment of reprise you get on the second side during the ‘quirky’ filler song is shattered when the album’s finest song, “Useless Ruin” blazes through your speakers. The guitars on this song are particularly interesting in how much they remind me of stuff Sean Livingston did in Pollution and Shoxx. If you could find a sound that reminded me the most of punching holes in the ceiling during a GSS house show, it would be the last song on this record.




This is a must buy for anyone that wants a little bit of metal in their punk, but doesn’t want to buy a metal album. Plus, the 7” that followed up this LP is great as well! True dollar-bin-ripper.
-rd