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Bible of the Devil:
For the Love of Thugs and Fools

(Melodic) Hard/Heavy Rock

4.5/5.0

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Cruz del Sur Records
by Craig Hartranft,  04.23.2012

Chicago's Bible of the Devil are one of those curious anomalies in the world of hard rock. They continue to develop and mature their sound, seeming ever so, well, themselves. Yet, listening to their sixth long player, For the Love of Thugs and Fools, you can't help to also hear much of their peers and their past in the music.

Bible of the Devil: awesome facial hair.

Clearly, and fundamentally, BotD remains a rock band. For the Love of Thugs and Fools is strong measure of Seventies heavy rock, a pinch or two of stoner stuff, maybe even some psychedelic, and a whole lot of classic melodic hard rock.

Mostly the album is rumbling and rowdy; heavy with a strong rock groove as on Raw and Order, The Parcher, and I Know What is Right. The band worked hard on the vocal arrangement, being almost anthem-like. Yet, vocalist Mark Hoffmann is nearly uneven on the album. He sounds like his gargling while singing on the opening piece.

As for those echoes from the past, at times I hear Thin Lizzy. Notably in Raw and Order and especially in Anytime. But that only betrays how past informs the present, and vice versa. Ultimately, For the Love of Thugs and Fools is Bible of the Devil doing rock n roll their way: melodic and catchy, heavy and formidable, daring and diverse. This could be the most accessible Bible of the Devil to date. Dig it.

For the Love of Thugs and Fools is Bible of the Devil doing rock n roll their way: melodic and catchy, heavy and formidable, daring and diverse. This could be the most accessible Bible of the Devil to date. Dig it.

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By now it's old news. Everybody in the prog universe knows: Dream Theater got the band back together. Drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy returned to his Dream Theater family to celebrate their 40th ... [ Read More ]