Devil You Know is the intersection of three undeniable talents from the world of heavy music. Howard Jones: the former Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed frontman, who garnered two gold records and a grammy nomination during his decade-long tenure with the Massachusetts band. Francesco Artusato: celebrated solo artist and guitarist with The Francesco Artusato Project and All Shall Perish. And John Sankey: drummer for the Australian band Devolved, who has also worked with Fear Factory and Divine Heresy. The sum total of the three has come together as Devil You Know yielding a sound as singular as it is unforgettable.

Devil You Know was born out of Artusato and Sankey’s creative quest to stretch beyond their extreme metal backgrounds. The two had written over a dozen songs before even attempting to lock down a singer. “We were unsure if Howard would be interested,” says Sankey.” Yet, when Killswitch Engage’s former frontman received the material, a creative ideal began to solidify.

Finally connecting in Los Angeles during the last months of 2012, a highly distinctive sound began to become apparent. “It turned from bare-bones musical ideas into something that surpassed any of our expectations” says Jones. “It went from something we thought was going to be a fun, heavy project into something very real.” It was during a recording session at the start of 2013 with producer and former Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader (Gojira, Five Finger Death Punch) that Devil You Know’s ideas began to alchemize into something none of the bands members would ever expect. “It became a departure from what I’m known for,” says Artusato. “I wasn’t focusing on technical guitar parts (even though I still love that aspect of writing) but simply on writing what felt best for each individual song.”

“World class vocalists like Howard Jones are the rarest commodity in metal music these days,” says Nuclear Blast Entertainment’s Monte Conner, whose recent NBE signings include European superstars Within Temptation as well as the hotly contested inking of Machine Head. “Howard has a tonality and richness to his voice that very few singers have. The band’s initial demos got me very excited but sometimes you strike gold. Devil You Know just made an incredible record that is going to surpass all expectations. The vocals are everything fans have come to expect from Howard but at the same time there is a depth, dimension and variety to his singing that shows incredible growth and elevates him in every way. Add to that world-class musical talents like Francesco Artusato and John Sankey both as players and songwriters. This is ground zero of something really exciting!”.