Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Devil Electric, Independent 2020.
Melbourne based heavy rockers, Devil Electric, have dropped their latest single from their yet to be released new album.
The Cave is a re-telling of Plato’s allegory of the same name written from the perspective of one of the prisoners.
Plato’s story is a prophetic one for the shadow forms that the chained and trapped prisoners see become their reality, not the real images (that they cannot see), that created the shadows in the first place.
I’ve always equated Plato’s allegory with Socrates story of the prisoners deliberately walled up in a cave.
They are forced to create their own reality and when the wall that has held them captive is finally breached, they find that they are more alone outside the cave than they were in it.
These are allegories that ring as true today as they were when written centuries ago.
I reviewed Devil Electric’s self-titled debut album back in 2017 noting how impress I was with the mix of the heavy rock riffs combined with lead singer Pierina O’Brien’s magnificent vocals.
And that view has been reinforced by this latest single.
There is something enticing about the decidedly feminine, but powerful, vocals layered over the top of the strongly masculine heavy riffing of the band.
It’s a point of difference that gives Devil Electric an edge in the competitive vintage rock scene.
The Cave is the second single to be released this year following on from All My Friends Move Like The Night and it suggests that the new album should be a cracker.
Both songs contain the gargantuan riffs that form the trademark underpinning of the band’s sound but if anything, O’Brien’s vocals coil and float with more assuredness than they ever have, entwining the melody in an impenetrable wall that is every bit as powerful as the one built to entomb the prisoners.
Devil Electric has a devoted following amongst heavy rock fans whom I’m sure are greatly anticipating the new album.
In the meantime there’s these two excellent singles to enjoy.
