Amigo The Devil is nothing if not a well of human emotions and on Yours Until the War is Over, things get more riotous and sentimental than ever before.
Release date: February 23, 2024 | Regime Music/Liars Club | Facebook | Instagram | Buy/Stream
Some acts seem like an overnight success. To some outside observers Amigo The Devil may just seem like one of those. This is an act that is lauded by mainstream outlets as well as niche metal blogs alike and if you’re prone to be looking into these spheres it may seem like Amigo The Devil is everywhere right now. Of course we all know by now, there’s usually more to the story and as someone who has been listening to this act for over a decade, there’s so much to uncover and explore with this artist. From the early obscurity and being placed on the fringes of the music scene due to the extreme and painfully candid songwriting, to the climb that led to the landmark release that was Everything Is Fine, Amigo The Devil are now riding a wave of love and adoration due to hard work and persistence and quite literally blazing their own trail.
It’s been around three years since we’ve heard from Danny and company and while Born Against had some solid tracks, it didn’t quite make the impact on me that its predecessor did. When Yours Until the War is Over was announced I was interested but the fire that once burned for them had dimmed a bit due to not feeling the last album quite as much. I didn’t listen to any of the songs before the album got into my hands as I wanted to experience the whole album at once and that proved to be a great idea.
One of the best parts of Amigo The Devil albums is the thematic whiplash that you can get by simply listening to the album from start to finish and this album does not disappoint on that front. Emotional manipulation from song to song is a trademark of this act and Yours Until the War is Over may just be their strongest album in that regard. From the ketamine-induced revenge dream where killing God to enact revenge on one who The Almighty had forgiven on “I’m Going to Heaven”, to the heartfelt dedication expressed in “The Mechanic”, to the booze-fueled robbery and murder of “Once Upon a Time at Texaco pt 1”, there are so many themes and emotions woven into the fabric of this record. To that end, one should never really think of this album (or any of theirs, for that matter) as a single story or theme. This is more like a collection of short stories or tales that allow expression in fantastical fictions, with a twist.
All of this often chaotic emotional content is supported by the album’s production that pivots to suit the tone of the lyrics. The crackling ambience of “Agnes” supports the fragility and vulnerability of the song’s devotional messages but cleans up and gives more space to “Cannibal Within” which follows immediately. On a record such as this, making sure that the technical aspects of the recording support the content of the lyrics is of high importance as it makes for a genuinely consistent experience from first song to last.
Listening to an Amigo The Devil album is a veritable journey around the gamut – and often the extreme edges – of what it is to feel human. There are escapist fantasies about doing favors for Lucifer to get back at God, envisioning a perfect relationship as a stray dog, and drug addled visions all interspersed spattered in between earnest desires to be closer to the one you love and dealing with the loss of a newborn. This album will tug at your heart and your mind and I fully guarantee that you will have a reaction to something here. It’s painfully earnest at times and bawdy at others. I could sit here and write out every witty line that stuck with me or express my empathy for some of the characters portrayed in these songs but simply put there’s so many great moments that should remain as surprises. If you want to feel something, anything, this is the album for you. There will be a song that will affect you and you will be better for it.
