Swedish stoner rockers Deville has released
some pretty interesting stuff before, but Hydra takes the band to a new level
for me. Opening rocker Lava really kicks the listening experience into instant
high gear! I really like Bengtsson’s clean, but strong voice in combination
with the hard driving fat guitars. They remind me a bit of The Quill at times,
which is quite okay in my book! I’m happy to say next track, Iron Fed,
continues this pleasant musical journey with its intense, back-beat
power-rhythm, while In Vain takes it all down a bit with a cool pace. At times
it feels wrong decimate Deville by calling them a stoner band, since they have
so many more influences in their sound and style. They are not overly distorted
in the guitar department and the vocals are cleaner than the general stoner
band. There are great riffs, there are cool mellow parts, there are are nice
variations in tempo and rhythms. There’s a bit of Truckfighters, a bit of
Dozer, a bit of The Quill, even a bit of Mustasch at times. It’s also quite
melodic. Let It Go, for instance, actually gave me a bit of a King's X feel with a modern melodic chorus. Most of all, they have really hit home when it comes to the song
quality on this album. A killer rocker that needs to be thoroughly checked out!
Janne Stark
Country: Sweden
Label: Small Stone Records
Year: 2013
Format: CD
