Devitalized – State Of Aggression – Album Review

Devitalized – State Of Aggression – Album Review

Review By Graeme Wright

‘State Of Aggression’ is the debut album from Devitalized, a band who I’ve had my eye on for a while now. They operate out of Massachusetts in the United States and are a Metalcore/Deathcore band with a touch of Hardcore thrown in for good measure. They have an utterly unique sound for their chosen genre and effortlessly combine brutal crushing riffs and vocals with a touch of melody that should bring them to the attention of a wider audience if there is any justice in the world.

The record itself contains eight massive songs of the highest quality and this collection is one of my highlights of the year so far. ‘Welcome Back’ is the album opener and I’ve already praised this track when it was released as a single. It’s slightly slower paced than the rest of the album and is a crunching heavy beast with a pounding bass/drum support combined with twin guitar work of the highest order. I love the vocal style of singer John Paul-Ratta throughout this album. He is an artist who can effortlessly combine the most brutal of screams and guttural roars with a more laid back sound at times, which makes it clear he can really sing. What impresses me most about this band is the intricacy of the arrangements on each song and the challenging changes of pace on each record that constantly keeps the listener on edge. There is nothing predictable on this record and ‘Deep Cuts’ is a song that is almost exhausting for the listener as well as being exhilarating .

‘Karma Sutra’ surprises with its synthesiser opening before it flattens you with an almost startling energy and pace before it throws a curveball at you with its laid back centre. ‘Godslayer’ is my favourite cut from the entire album. It also features Tom Barber from the band Chelsea Grin and as I’ve previously mentioned it blew me away when I first heard it, sending me on a journey to discover a bit more about a band that showed huge promise. Title track ‘State Of Aggression’ is the most ‘Metal’ song on the album and almost has a touch of early Slayer to it. This is also a song that shows that this band have a brain in their heads lyrically as throughout the album the words transcribed have true meaning and a relevant point to make to its audience. ‘X_X’ is the kind of song that would have had me throwing myself around a mosh pit back in the day while ‘Flesh Pit’ is a fast paced neck breaker of a tune.

The album closes out with ‘The End’ which leaves this record in a position that it’s hit eight home runs right out of the park in my book. If you like your music brutally heavy but with a touch of accessibility you have come to the right place. This collection should open a lot of doors for this band given the right airplay and I look forward to seeing them advance over the next year. I’d kill to see them live and I can’t give an outfit higher praise than that.

Band Members:

John-Paul Ratta – Vocals

Joseph Ratta – Lead/Rhythm Guitar

Dawson Medeiros – Guitar

Thomas Jones Jr – Bass Guitar

Tay Manesis – Drums

Track Listing.

1. Welcome Back

2. Deep Cuts

3. Karmasutra

4. Godslayer

5. State of Aggression

6. X_X

7. Flesh Pit

8. The End