CD Review: Vo'Devil Stokes – “Black Snake”
Vo'Devil Stokes’ Black
Snake is quite the adventure. Steeped in densely layered, wide-reaching
atmospherics and heavily swathed in persistent electronic flourishes, the debut
release from these Russian newcomers is certainly difficult to pin down, at
least sonically. One minute there’s rap verses followed up by waves of
synth-addled chugging refrains (“Banshee”) and Bring Me the Horizon-esque
alt-metal complete with staunch guitar solos (“Black Snake”), and in the next
there’s moody tracks seemingly scooped directly off the cutting room floor of
Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns
recording sessions (“The Walking Dead”) and towering melodies and expansive
hooks (“Burning Paradise”). The driving “Hero” is a highlight of Black Snake thanks to its anthemic,
radio ready vocal aesthetic, but if there was ever an instance of how good Vo'Devil
Stokes can be when all the noise works in union, it would be the stunning “To
Father,” the penultimate track off of Black
Snake. So, yeah, Black Snake is
an adventure to say the least, one worthy of an undertaking.
Grade: B
Go Download: “To Father”
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