Indianapolismusic.net review of "thirty pieces" Artist: Devil to Pay Album: Thirty Pieces of Silver Rating: (4 and 1/2 Stars) by Nataskaos Reviewing a CD like Devil To Pay's 'thirty pieces of silver' presents an interesting challenge. Devil To Pay combines many elements of classic greats and contemporary favorites. That mixture makes it hard to draw a single line of comparison to them and any band out there right now. It would also be a disservice to try and label them with any silly sub-genres. When it comes down to brass tax, 'thirty pieces of silver' is just a good old fashion rock and roll record. It's the kind of music that makes your neighbors mad when you play it a little too loud because they don't want their children to be corrupted. 'thirty pieces of silver' crafts a sound that falls somewhere between "the soundtrack to the end of all existence" and "Lucifer: The Musical". With Steve Janiak pulling double duty on guitar on lead vocal and Rob Secrist on the other axe, the record packs a density to their sound that I have not heard duplicated by any band in quite a long time. Coupled with the fact that Matt Stokes doesn't so much play his bass as pound it while Chad Prifogle beats his drums as to punish them in a rhythmic manner, rather than to simply add a beat. The opening track, "mouthful of spite", comes ripping out of the gate like a runaway diesel engine destined to destroy anything that dare crosses it's path. Not too many bands could get away with starting off a rock album with an instrumental, but Devil To Pay not only does it, but does it with a tune that sets the tone for a disk that is not only heavy and thick, but also incredibly sharp and powerful. From the slow and plodding "the lamb" to the super-turbo charged "angular shapes", this album keeps you nodding your head with the beat and gritting your teeth in doom inspired happiness. All the tracks have something in common: they feel viscous. It's good to hear a band that goes out of it's way to fill the listener's ears full of music, and not take the "less is more" approach to songwriting. I think that anyone that has that opinion had only need to listen to "the new black" one good time and they might have a change of heart. At the end of the day, thirty pieces of silver is among the best disks to come out of Indianapolis for as long as I can remember.