Chances are that if you are in high school or close to that age range, you’ve heard of DEVILDRIVER. And chances are even greater that you probably dig the band. Well, the band do not disappoint the fans of today’s mainstream metal generation. The Last Kind Words has all the pizzazz that sells records and fills the hearts of Hot Topic kids across the country: an interpretation of an American metalcore interpretation of Swedish melodic death metal, “guitar heroics,” blast beats, lots of other technical flash, and plenty of aggro. It’s obvious that the band listen to a lot of well-known underground metal and metalcore bands, as well as plenty of PANTERA, and are heavily influenced by them. However, the result of this inspiration comes out as a disfigured alien. The drums are very active and upfront in the mix but don’t really add much value. Blast beats and accompanying riffs often sound awful. Flashy and forgettable guitar licks are recklessly thrown about. Acoustic guitars and keyboards make seemingly random appearances. Each song is different as the band tries to put a personal stamp on different bands’ styles they cop. Unfortunately, when the band puts their own flavor on and into things, it sounds pretty awful. DEVILDRIVER are so focused on creating an aggro album that doesn’t relent that they lose sight of songwriting. There is little sense of timing, placement, and general dynamics. It’s a barrage of parts that often does not make sense. To top it all off, the giant U.S. flag on the back of vocalist Dez Fafara’s jacket on the back of the album just feels like an attempt to jump on the “right wing” bandwagon in regards to the state of the world today. In the end, the stench of nu-trend riding and subsequent poor quality is too much to bear. As MANOWAR so perfectly put it: Death to false metal! (Roadrunner Records)