Full Devil Jacket: Valley of Bones
3 min read
Let me begin by saying that this album is amazing, especially if you’re the kind of person that pays attention to narratives. If you are, then it only takes a moment for you to realize that this album is all about narrative. In short this is an intensely personal story wrapped inside a global commentary that needed to be said. It NEEDED to be SAID. Now if you can understand these basic concepts then “Valley of Bones” will resonate with you on a very personal level (and maybe even help you see the world with new eyes). Make no mistake – the album is dripping with the kind of emotion and depth that only comes out through someone that has done a bit of “living” and ultimately some soul searching too.
If you’re familiar with Full Devil Jacket, then you could just as easily call “Valley of Bones” the “Lazarus” album. After a promising beginning, and a few big name tours with some of the giants in the industry, the band virtually disappeared. The first three songs on the album from “Killers,” “Valley of Bones,” and “7X Down” directly address this revealing that much of this was because of lead singer Josh Brown’s bout with drug addiction and nearly dying. All of it beautifully summarized in “7X Down” when he says, “My addiction bruised and punctured skin, distortion running through my veins again, God only knows the man I could’ve been before.” What happens next from “The Moment” until the end of album is a complete paradigm shift and an aggressive message that seems to be counter to the existing culture that continues to permeate the music industry (and maybe even the world) today.
The two best songs “Blood of the Innocent” and “Picture Box Voodoo” really say it all. These songs flat out aren’t afraid to let you know that Josh Brown and company are going to let their opinions be known. “Blood of the Innocent” screams with lyrics like, “ Wicked men who devour the earth, bowing to Egypt, deceiving the world.” “Picture Box Voodoo” contain my favorite lines, “It’s an alchemy technology a fallen world philosophy a chemical atrocity here in a fascist state of killing love, denial of the Lord above, its prophets killed for profit this year.” Like I said, this is a very personal album and apologizes to no one for punching the world in the face with a depth of spirit and aggressive music that can compete with the best in the industry. But will it? Only time will tell. I can only tell you that when I finished I had to go back and revisit the ideas all over again and that really says something.
That being said, this album is really the best thing I’ve heard in years. The music is aggressive, fast and poignant. In a world that has been inundated with pit symbolism, eye of Horus puppetry and double speak political confusion in which people like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Kesha and Jay-Z are now the spokesman…Full Devil Jacket, yes, Full Devil Jacket emerges from ashes of the “Valley of Bones” as a kind of anti-establishment that is merely asking the listener to open their eyes (and ears) and give these well crafted ideas some serious consideration. As Josh Brown will attest, they have certainly changed him for the better. The album drops on March 31, 2015. Buy it.
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