Devolved

The cover artwork for “Reprisal”, the new album from Australian/Los Angeles tech-metal masters DEVOLVED, can be seen below. The CD, which will be released on November 20 via Unique Leader Records, will feature guest appearances by Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH), Nate Vennarucci (ONTOGENY, ANOMALOUS), Malcolm Pugh (DISKREET, A LOATHING REQUIEM) and Vishal Singh (ROBOTS PULLING LEVERS).

Commented DEVOLVED drummer, lyricist and founding member John Sankey: “I deliberately wanted to combine an organic death metal approach with more progressive and modern elements, while still incorporating a cold and futuristic soundscape which has always been a signature of our sound and concept.

“I had a very specific vision for this album and it is finally the definitive representation of what I have always wanted DEVOLVED to be.

“After our last studio release, ‘Oblivion’, I decided to work on my own and wrote all the new song structures and arrangements in their entirety by tracking just drums and vocals myself. Once they were complete, I recruited new guitarist Mark Hawkins [ROBOTS PULLING LEVERS] who then wrote and recorded all the guitar and bass parts. His involvement really allowed us to push the boundaries of each track and took the music to a totally new level of speed and technicality.

“To say the guitar work on this album is far beyond anything we have done before would be a huge understatement! New singer Mark Haggblad [UNVEIL THE STRENGTH] also brings a rejuvenated ferocity to the band; his relentless vocal delivery is extremely aggressive throughout each track while still maintaining a unique tone that fits the dynamics and diversity of the songs perfectly.

“It has been a renewed creative experience working with such focused and talented new members, and it has definitely allowed us to surpass anything the band has been capable of in the past. ‘Reprisal’ is without doubt the album I have always strived to create since the formation of DEVOLVED!”

“Reprisal” track listing:

01. Systematic Avenger
02. Accelerated Human Degeneration
03. Reprisal Of The Damned
04. Supremacy Enforced
05. Embodiment
06. Collateral Damage
07. Apocalyptic Visionary
08. Terminal Enslavement
09. Corrupted Mind Processor
10. Inanimate Infinity
11. (Cadence Of) The Dirge (EXHORDER cover; bonus track)

Sankey late last year recorded all the demo drum sessions for the new FEAR FACTORY album, “The Industrialist”, and co-wrote and programmed all the drum parts, along with FF guitarist Dino Cazares, for the final CD. He was unable to join FEAR FACTORY as the band’s new touring drummer due to visa restrictions.

Cazares previously stated about the new DEVOLVED material, “Systematic brutality at its best. Raising the bar once again with their intellectual song arrangements [and] insane drum patterns that would make any tech metal fan turn their heads. This band just keeps getting better and better. Welcome to the end of everything that you once knew and say hello to the future.”

DEVOLVED‘s last album, “Oblivion”, was released in May 2011 via Unique Leader Records.