This is the third single to be taken from the Stereophonics latest album Language. Sex. Violence. Other? - they should probably have stopped after the second. This may sound damning, but Devil, good song though it may be, is not your standard single fare.
Devil is a brooding little number; understated drums drive a repetitive piano riff while Kelly Jones delivers his vocals asthmatically on the way to the chorus. Of course, this being the Stereophonics, the chorus is a crashing rock beast. The gloves seem to be off for the Stereophonics now, and they've turned into a fully-fledged Rock Behemoth. Anyone who saw their frantic Live 8 showing could attest to that. Jones has obviously been scouring the Heavy Metal bin in his local record shop lately. He's clearly not forgotten Nirvana either, and Devil certainly has a fair amount of grunge tucked away in its codpiece: The strangulated closing vocals come straight from the Cobain School of Howling.
A good song then, but Devil would be far happier brooding away, spitting venom, within the confines of their album.
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