True Devil Drops A Fiery Single
- BuzzSlayers
- Sep 14
- 5 min read
A new single release from True Devil hits hard and heavy with a great breed of classic, melodic, and driving metal that comes with a thriving energy and collective punch that lets the band's presence shine and gives you this almost live performance aesthetic.
"S.D.O.N." is a track that boasts a massive set of riffs that bring together elements of old school and new school metal approaches, but also blends hard rock and other elements of heavy music into the mix so that it's not just one thing.
The drums are absolutely slamming throughout this entire track and not only give the song a drive but also help give this special kind of liveliness to the song itself, and I feel like the rest of the band feeds off of that.
The fact that these guys put off this kind of energy during this single is immense. It feels almost like they recorded it live on the floor, and everyone involved was indeed feeding off of each other's energies the entire time, giving the song a heavy-handed fire.
Lyrically, the track boasts a little bit of aggression and comes from the point of view of someone who's basically had enough of someone else's nonsense. He's done dealing with the lies, dealing with the nonsense, and just hearing the same stuff over and over.
This is a sentiment a lot of us can relate to, especially in certain kinds of relationships.
On that front, it's very connective. The emotional backbone behind this track, and being fed up with someone's crap, comes through as aggression, and it works perfectly here because they utilize that to come through with the powerhouse of a soundscape, and this almost arena metal approach.
The track is just big. The guitar tones alone are deepening, crunching, and there are a few guitar tracks here that layer on top of each other and at times, bounce between each other, giving the song an extra depth and thickness.
There's definitely a lot going on vocally. The vocals are very driving and have just as much power and edginess as the music itself. I feel like the vocalist matches the energy of the band and vice versa, so that everything comes to a head perfectly.
Another thing I really loved about this track is its anthemic chorus. There's a surprisingly melodic and full-bodied chorus that sticks around in your head for hours after the song has ended.
Not only does the main vocal come through with shining colors here, but some great backing vocals add a little bit of extra texture and layers to that course, making it sonically bigger than the rest of the song, which is the point of a good chorus.
You have a few halftime, classic hardcore and metal breakdown areas, and of course, some amazingly performed guitar work that isn't crazy intricate or anything, but instead performed with this fierce approach that you can hear.
You can literally hear the guitar being slammed and shredded. I love that because it's very rare you can hear that kind of power coming through in a guitar lick unless you're a guitar player yourself and know exactly what that sounds like.
But during that heavier breakdown area, it definitely becomes super evident that everyone in this band is performing at level 10.
They've got it turned up, the energies through the roof, the whole thing hits like a sucker punch to the gut. It's got a perfect grittiness to it and blends that gigantic, anthemic, arena-metal feel and aesthetic with a crunching and sort of brutal heaviness that work together amazingly to give the song its own vibe.
This was an absolute banger of a track, and yes, it blends tons of different heavy rock and metal approaches into one song without straying too far from the formula. They're not reinventing the wheel, high impact, giving off that live performance, in your face, put you right there in the moment kind of sound.
That is something every heavy band should strive for.
These guys capture the intensity of a song like this damn near perfectly, and they do it in a pretty catchy way.
It's the type of track you can listen to a bunch of times and not get bored with it. It just has that punch, and that's part of what makes it so addictive.
You can hear clearly that everyone in the band is exactly on the same page.
Definitely check this one out and turn it loud because it's the only way to listen to a track like this.
While you're doing that, have a read-through of our interview with the band below, where we find out more about the single and the band themselves.
Remember where you heard this first.
Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about S.D.O.N. This was such a heavy feel with a blend of metal and hardcore approaches! Amazing riffs! Where did this track come from?
Mark Stebleton (Singer): S.D.O.N was a riff that started out in 2020 when Covid 19 hit. Like many musicians I found myself unable to play live shows- so writing and recording became the focus. I was lucky enough to have a friend with a home studio who allowed me to come over and create. So that song was born from that period. When I joined True Devil – I brought it in as a demo and we were collectively able to bring S.D.O.N to life.
Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches on this record! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Mark (Singer): Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Led Zeppelin. I like metal with melody.
Jame (Drummer): I’m a big fan of Gojira and Anthrax but my music tastes are super diverse – from Devo, old B-52’s to Big Band and New Orleans Blues.
Dana Deadly (bass): I’m a goth girl -my dark heart adores Love and Rockets, Peter Murphy, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Cult.
Buzz Slayers: Are you guys performing live right now? Any touring in support of this release?
Dana: Yes, we are touring regionally as much as we can.
Buzz Slayers: Did you guys record this in a home studio setup, or did you go to a big studio for this?
James: It’s a combination of both. We record all the drums, bass and guitars at our home studio and then Mark records the vocals with Andy Patalan (producer and guitarist for 90’s modern rock band Sponge). Andy mixes and master’s the tracks as well. It works out well for all of us to be able to do the bed tracks at home and then have Andy produce in his studio.
Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for the band?
Dana: We are continually writing and recording, booking shows and shooting music videos. We have massive ideas for songs and videos -we joke it’s a good problem to have because we have so much material. Our creative juices are on fire in True Devil!
Buzz Slayers: Are you planning any music videos in the near future?
Dana: We just released a video for “At Day’s End” that we filmed at one of our tattoo shops (We own 4) in Ann Arbor, Michigan called Ritual. You can check it out here:
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