Indystar.com review of "Cash is King"

DEVIL TO PAY "Cash Is King," Lax Wax Records.
Reviewed by Star staff writer David Lindquist.

Tongue-in-cheek is out, and clenched teeth are in for Devil to Pay.
The Indianapolis-based band winked at some hard-rock conventions on 2003 debut album "Thirty Pieces of Silver," but follow-up release "Cash Is King" leaves no room for jokes. Vocalist-guitarist Steve Janiak takes a poison pen to the topics of death, dogmas and war. For the last of these, the song "Born to Rue" offers, "The one thing history shows us: Violence gets things done."

Regarding mortality, Janiak knows it's inescapable (as heard on "Shake Hands with Death") and encourages "seize the day" as the only way to live ("So Low").

The stark lyrical outlook is matched by the music, which grinds rather than pops. Janiak, drummer Chad Prifogle, bass player Matt Stokes and guitarist Bob Bridges patiently hammer at bent notes inside low-tuned metal riffs.

While Janiak uses a raw-throated scream to punctuate some of his points, the value of "Cash is King" materializes across all 14 tracks. It's a steady pummeling served with a side of pragmatic philosophy.

Devil to Pay is scheduled to celebrate the release of "Cash is King" with a performance Friday at the Melody Inn, 3826 N. Illinois St. For more information, visit www.deviltopay.net.