JACK THE JOKER – The Devil To Pay In The Backlands

Brazilian Progressive Metal band, Jack the Joker have returned to the scene with the release, The Devil to Pay in The Backlands. This is Jack the Joker’s third album since their 2016 release, Mors Volta, and their debut album In The Rabbit Hole released in 2014. The album was produced by Adair Daufembach (Angra) with a release date of August 22, 2025, via Frontiers Music SRL. The lineup consists of Raphael Joer (vocals), Felipe Facó (guitar), Lucas Colares (guitar), Gustavo Pinheiro (bass), and Vicente Ferreira (drums / percussion).

Progressive Metal meets Maracatu

Since the inception of the band in 2012, Jack the Joker infuses Brazilian elements of maracatu, forró, baião, and frevo into their blend of Progressive Metal. From the opening track, “Devir” and the single “Between the Sky Lines”, Jack The Joker fuses all of these elements to produce a beautifully crafted album. The influences for the album come from the Brazilian novel that bears the same name of the album, navigating metaphysical backlands where humans clash with forces of nature. With Adair Daufembach working the controls, the album mixes elements of technical metal, groove, with intervals of melody and intertwined with pulsing bass and blast beats. The opening track, “Devir” by definition is Progressive Metal at its roots with up tempo beats, melodic layering of the harmonies, and nu-metal Esque growls. As the album progresses, the band masterfully lays progressive elements over the harmony of each track, and the composition of each song has its own identity to where no two songs sound alike. Elaborate base lines with complimenting percussion and technical guitar solos highlight the ability of the musicians in the band.

Assessment

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands is an album that highlights the band’s prowess and maturity in constructing a very well written and performed album. The mixing is very well balanced as each instrument can be heard. Each track has its own distinct opening style from acoustic clean guitars on tracks “Neblina”, “Denied”, and “Hope”. The intro to “Cabaret” infuses forró, baião, and frevo transitioning over to a fusion of ne-metal and progressive metal with a more aggressive vocal tone from Joer. Tracks such as “Devir”, XV”, and “Thousand Witnesses” have a more aggressive tone. The album is lengthy at 67 minutes of runtime across 11 tracks. This may seem long for some listeners in this day and age of shorts and reels.

One negative aspect of the album for some will be the playtime. As mentioned above, the album is lengthy at 67 minutes, with the last track “Hope” accounting for 13 minutes. This may seem like an eternity for some as the album has a feeling of being long by the time you get through the ninth and tenth tracks. This album may turn off casual listeners who are not accustomed to the elements of Progressive Metal. Most of the track’s clock in above the four- and five-minute mark are more common in Progressive Metal. With that said, the complexity and tempo changes justify the extended length of the songs. This is simply an album to immerse yourself in and enjoy the ride. Standout tracks in this album is “Devir” and “Denied”.

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands is highly recommended for fans of Dream Theater, Opeth, and Scardust who enjoy a full album experience as opposed to a collection of singles.

Lineup

Raphael Joer – Vocals
Felipe Facó – Electric/Acoustic Guitars
Lucas Colares – Electric/Acoustic Guitars
Gustavo Pinheiro – Bass Guitars
Vicente Ferreira – Drums and Percussions

Tracklist

1. Devir
2. Between The Sky Lines
3. Denied
4. XV
5. Neblina
6. Sun
7. You Where I Belong
8. Thousand Witnesses
9. Cabaret
10. Saudade
11. Hope