Devil to Pay - Heavily Ever After
Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Lax Wax Records
Release date: 2009


It'd be cool to say that with their third album, Indianapolis' Devil to Pay will finally hit the big time, but I have the sinking feeling that this four-piece will still be relegated to “local legend”/”should be bigger” status. Such is life in the trenches of underground riff rock. I'm sure the band's well aware of its destiny.

Still, it's not for a lack of trying. Sure, the band doesn't help maintain momentum by taking its time between recordings – three years have passed since Cash Is King and six since debut Thirty Pieces of Silver – and chewing through guitarists (new guy Rob Hough is their fourth) can't be good either, but as far as songs go, Devil to Pay has always not only consistently delivered, but they've also gotten better with each release. They may have started off as a more traditional stoner rock band, but they've grown into their own sound, finding the common ground between classic rock, classic doom, and classic metal.

That's a whole heapin' of classic, and it's reflected best in songs like “Distemper,” “When All Is Said and Done,” “Troglodyte Jive,” “Snake Charmer,” and “Zealots.” With frontman Steve Janiak's John Garcia-like howl and his and Hough's combined guitars supported by a rhythmic wall-of-sound from bassist Matt Stokes and drummer Chad Prifogle, these tracks (and to a slightly lesser extent, the other eight) show the band has a knack for heavy grooves that reverberate for days. I'd go on, but coming up with flowery ways of saying, "This is kick ass" goes against the band's straightforward approach. Ergo, understand that this kicks a serious amount of ass.

Sure, they could've trimmed Heavily Ever After down to a more economical ten numbers, but I wouldn't want to be the one choosing which song to cut (even the lesser “Mancuerda” is saved by clever, nonsensical lyrics like “swim through the mayonnaise”). At any rate, Heavily Ever After proves that these local legends should be bigger. Recommended.

- John Pegoraro