LISTEN: Howard Jones Returns With Devil You Know’s “Seven Years Alone”

March 5th, 2014

Kevin Blumeyer

Since leaving Killswitch Engage in early 2012, vocalist Howard Jones has been quietly preparing to launch a new band called Devil You Know. He started the project alongside guitarist Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish) and drummer John Sankey (Devolved), and the group was promptly signed to Nuclear Blast Entertainment, who will release the band’s debut LP The Beauty of Destruction on April 29.

The band has now released the album’s first single, “Seven Years Alone,” and while it’s strange to think you already knew exactly what to expect out of a completely new band, well, the song is exactly what you’d expect from a Howard Jones-led project. And by that, I’m saying it sounds like really dated, uninspired mid-2000s metalcore. I suppose that falls in line with the group’s generic moniker, a phrase that was already overused as both a Heaven & Hell album title and the name of an Anthrax song in recent years.

Howard’s voice is as powerful as ever though and I’m sure myself and countless other fans of the genre would have eaten this up ten years ago, but are people still on the lookout for this type of music in the year 2014? I guess we’ll find out soon enough as the band is also preparing to head out on their first full U.S. tour, supporting Black Label Society and Down on the Revolver Golden Gods Tour. The band’s touring lineup will be rounded out by guitarist Roy Lev-Ari and Bleeding Through bassist Ryan Wombacher.

You can find those tour dates and the stream of “Seven Years Alone” below.

04/16 Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
04/17 Portland, OR – Roseland
04/18 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
04/19 Missoula, MT – Wilma Theater
04/21 Billings, MY – Shrine Auditorium
04/25 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
04/26 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
04/27 Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Metro Park (‘Welcome To Rockville‘)
04/29 Tampa, FL – The Ritz Ybor
04/30 Lake Buena Vista, FL – House Of Blues
05/02 Birmingham, AL – Iron City
05/03 Concord, NC – Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Rock City Campgrounds (‘Carolina Rebellion‘)
05/04 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
05/05 Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights
05/07 Philadelphia, PA – The Electric Factory
05/08 Worcester, MA – The Palladium
05/09 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
05/10 New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
05/12 Norfolk, VA – The Norva
05/13 Stroudsburg, PA – Sherman Theater
05/15 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
05/16 Columbus, OH – Crew Stadium (‘Rock On The Range‘)
05/17 Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s
05/19 Sioux Falls, SD – The District
05/20 Chicago, IL – House Of Blues
05/21 St. Paul, MN – Myth
04/23 Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theater
05/27 New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues
05/28 Houston, TX – House Of Blues
05/30 Council Bluffs, IA – Rockfest
06/01 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
06/02 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
06/04 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater
06/05 Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
06/06 San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballrom
06/07 Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater