Year of the Locust

Devolver is the second album and first full-length record from Long Island, New York power-rock quartet, Year of the Locust. The group's formula of air-tight riffs from a wall of guitars mixed with the hearty bellow of lead singer, Scot McGiveron is in the tradition of fellow alternative metal outfits, Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown. Devolver keeps up this tradition of lightly country-fried, high octane rock n roll. The band is making their third tour of the U.S. this summer to support the release.

The album kicks off with a soaring guitar lead that segues into heavy riffage and McGiveron's powerful yell. The tom-heavy drums pack a punch. The band has the straightforward verse, half-time chorus thing down to a science. Aside from the odd, subdued intro here and there, most of the album follows this same recipe.

The riff of 'Better Than You' sounds like someone trying to play a poorly transcribed tablature of System of a Down's 'Aerials'. The similarities are more than striking but hey, if Zeppelin got away with slightly changing Spirit's original riff and using it as their own, then surely this passes the same test. The meditative nature of System's 2001 album closer is replaced with a mind-numbing boast of being “better than you”.

Album closer 'Spyderman' offers some more interesting call and response guitar riffs. The music has a darker dissonance and the vocals take a break during the verses from their normal tone and cadence. The song takes the album out on a high note.

Devolver is a perfectly executed album but what it's executing isn't particularly interesting. At times, the chunky riffs under soaring solos bring to mind Jerry Cantrell's axe work in Alice In Chains but for the most part, the band just finds themselves on the heavy end of the Nickleback scale. If those kinds of bands are your jam, then Devolver will fit right in with the rest of the discs in the cd changer of your truck.