The Other The Devils You Know CD Review

*Originally written in 2012*

One of the things that drew me to the Other over the years was that each of their albums were fantastic on their own merit, but with each release they also evolved and showed undeniable promise. By doing so, their albums became the archetype of what a great horror rock album should be. While their debut album 'They're Alive!' wasn't as polished as their later releases, any die hard horror rock fan knew that they were a band to watch and to expect great things from and that has undoubtedly been the case.

Any album following the Other's last album, 'New Blood', had to overcome a huge obstacle in my mind because I believe it to be their best release to date. Every song was alluring and engaging in addition to being fun and catchy as hell. Then again, it's hard to find any issue with any of their albums because they're so well written and performed that there's nothing to complain about. 'The Devils You Know' is the first album that I cannot fully stand behind. I find many of the tracks boring and not nearly as catchy as the majority of offerings from their back catalog. Some of the songs such as "In the Shadows", "Fire from Outer Space" and "Ewigkeit" feel contrived and uninspired. 

I love when the Other sing in their native tongue (German), as "Der Tod Steht Dir Gut" and "Hier Kommt Die Dunkelheit" are arguable my favorite songs by them, but "Ewigkeit" is nowhere near the quality of the aforementioned duo. Some of the songs that I did find catchy and caught myself singing along to are "Fright Night", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Puppet on a String" and "Take You Down.

In the end, 'The Devils You Know' is still better than your average horror rock or horror punk release, so give it a chance if you're interested in hearing one of today's best bands of any horror genre.

~TJ