Devil You Know, ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ – Album Review

Devil You Know are made up of several veteran musicians with solid pedigrees. Originally formed by guitarist Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish) and drummer John Sankey (Devolved, Divine Heresy), they rounded out the lineup with former Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones, guitarist Roy Lev-Ari and bassist Ryan Wombacher (Bleeding Through).

Their debut album ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ gets off to a strong start with the aptly titled ‘A New Beginning.’ It’s a potent track with great guitar work and plenty of intensity that eases up towards the end. There's a lot of Killswitch Engage style metalcore on the album with Jones alternating angry barks with silky smooth singing.

While you will hear elements of Jones-era Killswitch on the album, the other band members add in their diverse influences as well. Artusato brings some potent guitar chops to the table (check out his solo that closes out ‘Crawl From the Dark’), and Sankey’s performance on the album is impressive.

The stickman's drum sound is huge, with producer Logan Mader (Fear Factory, Five Finger Death Punch) making the album sound pristine with plenty of dynamics, and even orchestral parts on ‘I Am the Nothing.’ Harder edged songs like ‘Shut It Down’ alternate with more accessible and radio friendly tracks like ‘It’s Over,’ helping add variety.

The strongest parts of ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ are when they push the boundaries and explore different aspects of their sound. ‘A Mind Insane’ is a prime example, a track that has influences of several genres, even black metal.

Whether you call Devil You Know a ‘supergroup’ or not, it’s a welcome return by Jones. He sounds rejuvenated, and the lineup meshes together well. The middle of ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ lags a bit, but overall it’s a solid slab of metalcore.