France's STONE HORNS is the solo project from ACOD's live sound engineer Devf...quite a cool project for MACHINEHEAD and DEVILDRIVER enthusiasts. Consisting of thirteen songs, this full-length found me curious about it since I already know ACOD. The intro isn't representative of what's next ; sinister, opera-esque keyboards invites the listener to enter slowly in the landscapes of the promising album. « The passing » is a two minute long little intro to let us breathe a little before the show. "Allegiance to the Beast " proposes crushing riffs, grooving moments, and a nice display of Devf's vocals skills. He can sing many ways and he has a versatile approach. It's not a revolution here, but he seems to have serious fun doing this and it's contagious. The repetition of the chorus in the second part induce more catchiness to the song and I had a great time listening to it.

"At the Gates of the Devil's Mansion" is pretty dynamic and Devf's voice is interesting, falling somewhere in between Death Metal and Core. MACHINE HEAD's trademark (pinch harmonics) are used here and there. The mix of voices while growling and screaming is qite cool. Crazy guitar solos are inserted in some intense moments. I am positively surprised since habitually this kind of metal doesn't always ring the good bell for me. But this time I have a great time getting destroyed by these riffs and these extremely creative vocals. "In Front Line" is fast, and surgical. This one must kill badly LIVE. We can hear some narrative samples. The guitar lines are quite melodic and feel like some old IN FLAMES to me. The guitars are razor sharp and show no mercy. This is song is huge and bad ass, destruction and no turning back.

"Pit of Hornthrone" sounds like some PANTERA on amphetamine or speed. It's fast paced and energetic. I can smell the sweat dripping down from here. France has some badass bands and here is one. They are not reinventing anything but showing so much power, anger and rage delivery with ultimate dynamics that no one should ignore. There's plenty of circlepit-inducing moments every second of this one. "Scuttling Theory" changes direction to some more aggressiveness and also shows vocals and some affinities with GOJIRA .It also has some of the best solos of the first songs yet are here in this one. "Storm of Torments" is the first single of the album. The strongest part of this song is the chorus that's shaking the ground and saving it offering a nice variation .The guitars are creative and impulsive. Let you draw in the catchy choruses and sing a long! A guitar frenzy will catch the listener around minute three. It's a very effective one.

"Unshaken Soul" is the song that imposes a reflection of society...the way we think, the way we live, the way we act daily. We are in fact the destructors...we are the faulty ones, and we are warned. While being very introspective and forcing a little break, this track has a good pace too it. "Ancient World's Ashes" tells the story of what happens after not listening to the warning. We're fucked! The riffs are relentless and show no pity. Again the vocals are really interesting. This is well written and performed perfectly. Chaotic are the six strings and we fall the chaos everywhere. There are great guitar melodies intertwined with rhythm ones, and the cherry on the top is the GROWWWWWLS. "Reach the Astrophyllites Sphere" is using a formula that habitually could be boring or annoying to me. But Devf knows to do tricks to never let me find anything boring or copycat. The secret is all in the way it is done. "Anger, Remorse, Repeat" and "Cervante's Thenody" are excellent songs too. "One Last Stand" is a big slap in the face, with excellent riding rhythm guitars, an amalgam of what's been invoked since track one. There is no time to relax, they have pity for us and let us breathe for the last minute or so of the album. Dramatic samples ends this kind of hour of music that destroyed everything.