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Bet The Devil: Bet the devil
30/11/11 || InquisitorGeneralis
Remember the good old days when music that had the suffix core in its name didn’t mean shitty breakdowns and whiney vocals? When metal was simple, trashy, and raw? When banging women was easy and condom free? When stompin’ a fool didn’t lead to a civil court case? Bet the Devil does, and they are ready to bring back the grit and aggression of early 90’s groove/trash/hardcore with a healthy dose of close-to-midlife male rage. With members from local and national Baltimore-based acts like Stout, First Offense, Darkest Hour, Next Step Up, and Trephine this band is not lacking in metal credentials. Or balls. Also, you get guest appearances on here from top metal dudes like Jason Netherton, Marc Kloeppel, Spark Voyles, John Gallagher of Dying Fetus and Misery Index fame. Mysterious and legendary Stout frontman TAD also shows up on a track or two. This is pretty much a Baltimore metal scene orgy with a shitload of big, tattooed, hairy dudes that is centered around the legendary Ottobar where everyone in Bet the Devil either works, plays, or gets drunk at on a regular basis. Oh, and orgies happen there all the time too. If you ever go upstairs at The Ottobar, it’s a good chance you are sitting with two-feet of an area where some hipster and/or crusty chick has been double, or even, triple penetrated. Rock on!
Bet the Devil get all Bad Company on us and start things off with a song named after the album named after the band. When you pull that shit, it better be good. Thankfully, “Bet the devil” delivers with some heavy grooves and cool lyrics. When someone as fucked up as literary giant and legendary drunk Edgar Allen Poe is an inspiration, things are already headed in the right direction. “Bet the devil” opens things up strong and showcases the band’s ability to keep things simple and old-school but still interesting. You definitely get a true thrash-meets-hardcore vibe on here. Chuck “Devil’s Advocate” Collins and Mike Knauer are well schooled in the art of the thick, chunky, meaty boners….I mean guitar riffs and they serve up the goods throughout “Bet the Devil”. Vocalist JR Glass of legendary Baltimorecore act Next Step up definitely brings a hardcore flavor to the vocals and his grainy delivery is a nice complement to the bands raw sound. Thankfully, the lyrics are not all about respect and determination, instead focusing on more metal stuff like death, the apocalypse, and killing people. And legendary melancholic drunk writers.
Matt “Iron” Maben backs things up nicely on the kit. Seeing as he was an original member of long-running metalcore act Darkest Hour, it is no surprise the dude can play. What he can’t do is provide a decent gift at The Ottobar staff X-Mas white elephant. I still have that old snare head, Matt. Fifteen buck minimum my fat ass. Anyway, these dudes are all metal pros and there is nothing wrong with playing on here; tight riffs, good drumming, and heaps of aggress’o‘groove. Check of “Lord of the apocalypse” for examples of all that bullshit. My main man Chuck Collins pumps out plenty of meaty, heavy guitar lines to match the sweat and meat that collects in his epic man-beard. Being true disciples of riff-heavy music allows the Chuckster and his partner in axe-crime Mike Knauer to keep things varied and interesting throughout “Bite the Penis”.
I have to give major props to Bet the Devil for recording and releasing this puppy all on their own. That shows a true dedication to the music and the band. Since I know several of these fellas personally, I know how much time and effort they sacrificed to make this happen. You would think that my personal ties to Bet The Devil would cause me to cast them in a favorable light, regardless of the band’s actual quality. This is not true. If they sucked a dick I would gladly tell them they sucked a dick…then run for my fucking life before ten heavily tattooed fists beat my ass back into the stone age. If you are looking for some home-grown, legitimate metal that doesn’t give a flying fuck about genres, wankery, or pussy shit like emotions or feelings, give Baltimore’s Bet the Devil a listen. While they don’t push any boundaries or discover new lands and riches for the metal empire, Bet the Devil remind us that bare bones thrashy, hardcore-inspired metal can be damn good when done by people who appreciate and understand the roots of heavy, extreme music.
- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: self-released
- Website: http://betthedevil.com
- Band
- JR Glass: vocals
- Chuck Collins: guitars
- Mike Knauer: guitars
- Aaron Martinek
- Matt Maben: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Bet the Devil
- 02. Shock Doctrine
- 03. Deceiver
- 04. Blood of the Martyr
- 05. Midnight Dreary
- 06. Lenore
- 07. Lord of the Apocalypse
- 08. Numb
- 09. Crossing the Line
- 10. Starve the Beast
- 11. Funeral Pyre
- 12. October 7, 1849
