When news hit that Devildriver were going to release a set of country cover songs, there was hesitation among the metal fans on whether this would work. To be honest, there’s two reasons why this would work – 1 being that metal and country have in many ways crossed paths many times in many forms including the southern rock/metal world and 2, that the two genres are natural allies. When I say country by the way, I don’t mean Kenny Rogers and Carrie Underwood mainstream, radio friendly country. I’m talking the outlaw stuff in the form of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and David Allan Coe and those guys are metal guys in spirit. Rebellious, against the grain and not necessarily catered for the mainstream audience. So the two worlds colliding in the form of Devildriver’s “Outlaws ’til the End Vol. 1” seems pretty natural but the question is, does it work with Devildriver?
I knew Devildriver and outlaw country would be a natural fit in some ways, if you look at their back catalogue you can find that stuff littered in various songs and even their music videos. From “Before the Hangmans Noose” to “Forgiveness Is a Six Gun” to the aggressive “Not All Who Wander Are Lost”, it’s been a part of the overall Devildriver style for many years. Even Dez himself is a self-confessed country music fan which is one of the reasons this album exists. So on hearing all the tracks on offer here, some of which I was actually familiar with despite not really being a fan of the country stuff, it was genuinely surprising to hear that this sounds more Devildriver than any of the different artists and styles found here which in a way might be easier for fans to digest if they are looking for some new Deevildriver tunes to listen to.
The album opens up quite perfectly with a spaghatti western tone as if the two worlds were ready at a stand off, guns at ready for some blazing firepower. Sure enough the familiar Devildriver chuggs laden with some powerful double kicks coarses through “Country Heroes” with the help from Hank Williams III who also wrote this number himself. From here it really is guns blazing as Randy Blythe and Mark Morton from Lamb Of God give the Willie Nelson song “Whiskey River” some gutteral heaviness, Randy vicious in his vocal delivery as the whole band stamp the Devildriver sound hard on this one.
The Eagles’ “Outlaw Man” is surprisingly catchy and groovy, much like the original and one of the most different tracks covered here. One of the highlights though is “Ghost Riders In The Sky“, a classic Johnny Cash number featuring none other than two of Cash’s own offspring in John Carter and Ana Cash who give their stamp of approval alongside Randy Blythe who again does an amazing job playing off of Dez’s vocals back and forth. Yipee Kai Yay indeed!
There are many songs on here that could have easily been Devildriver songs, the fact that becomes more apparent as the album goes on is another reminder of how well Devildriver can incorporate other elements in their music. “I’m the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)” and the chilling darkness found on “If Drinking Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)” are good examples of that with the latter featuring the sppokman himself, Wednesday 13 on a song that seems perfect for both Devildriver and the Halloween king himself. Wednesday 13 has a history with outlaw country too given his side project Bourbon Crow so it only seems fitting to have him on here, the dark vibe of this song definitely captured well with his signature vocals.
For something a bit more edgy, “The Man Comes Around” from Johnny Cash again, receives a punk ethos with guest vocals from Fear’s Lee Ving. Despite that vibe though, this song has many twists and turns which makes this another highlight of the album. Of course we can’t forget about the classic “Copperhead Road” from Steve Earle which even on mainstream radio is a well known and loved favorite from fans from all over the world. I was genuinely surprised to see this on here and while it’s expected to be vastly different from the original, which it is, there was a strong familiarity of this version that could not be denied, especially when the anthemic chorus line featuring the track title comes in. This might piss a few purist type fans out there but boy do Devildriver put some authority on their version of it!
Rounding out the album is the solid “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” featuring the unmistakable voice of Burton C. Bell from Fear Factory while the Devldriver sounding “A Country Boy Can Survive” and the David Allan Coe track “The Ride” brings it all together to finish things off. What else is there to say about an outlaw country album done metal style? It works well here even if the aggressive tones and screams sometimes overpower the strong melodies of the originals but this was never meant to be done to replicate the originals but merely pay homage to the outlaws of music and give the world something different in a market that is saturated with the same stuff. For fans of Devildriver, this should be a winner and hopefully metal fans in general will take notice too.
TRACKLIST
“Country Heroes”
Written by Hank Williams
Performed by Hank3 & Dez Fafara
“Whiskey River”
Written by Johnny Bush and Paul Stroud; recorded by Willie Nelson
Performed by Randy Blythe, Mark Morton of Lamb of God & Dez Fafara
“Outlaw Man”
Written by David Blue; recorded by the Eagles
Performed by Dez Fafara & Neal Tiemann of DEVILDRIVER
“Ghost Riders in the Sky”
Written by Stan Jones
Performed by John Carter Cash, Ana Cristina Cash, Randy Blythe & Dez Fafara
“I’m the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)”
Written by Bobby Bobby Borchers, Wayne Kemp, Mack Vickery; recorded by Johnny Paycheck
Performed by Dez Fafara & DEVILDRIVER
“If Drinking Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)”
Written by Harlan Sanders, Rick Beresford; recorded by George Jones
Performed by Wednesday13 & Dez Fafara
“The Man Comes Around”
Written by Johnny Cash
Performed by Lee Ving of Fear & Dez Fafara
“A Thousand Miles From Nowhere”
Written by Dwight Yoakam
Performed by Dez Fafara & Neal Tiemann of DEVILDRIVER
“Copperhead Road”
Written by Steve Earle
Performed by Brock Lindow of 36 Crazyfists & Dez Fafara
“Dad’s Gonna Kill Me”
Written by Richard Thompson
Performed by Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory & Dez Fafara
“A Country Boy Can Survive”
Written by Hank Williams Jr.
Performed by Dez Fafara & DEVILDRIVER
“The Ride”
Written by J.B. Detterline Jr., Gary Gentry; recorded by David Allan Coe
Performed by Lee Ving of Fear & Dez Fafara
