The Last Adventures of Captain Dog
MeteorCity
Sweden's Blind Dog is the latest signee from the Albuquerque, NM based indie label MeteorCity. Very cool stuff, although very typical of the label's Sabbath influenced stoner-metal catalog. The opener, "Thundergroove," features killer riffs and chord progressions and the following track, "10,000 Reasons," is another ass-kicker with a powerful opening riff which again leads into some cool chord progressions. Like most bands of this genre, the production is very garage-like and the vocals are generally buried a top the Iommi influenced guitar riffs. The songs that follow are actually much more diverse and interesting. And, like most bands hailing from Vikingland, the musicians are quite competent players, even vocalist/bassist Tobias Nilsson doesn't sound half-bad when he actually sings, like on the track "Beyond My Reach," which features a great Hammond organ performance from drummer Thomas Elenvik giving it an old-school Purple/Heep flavor. Combine that with the mouth organ [harmonica] talents of guitarist Joakim Thell, the song displays unique southern rock elements making it stand out from the other tracks. Joakim plays some brilliant riffs and leads on this song as well. Some of the other killer tunes include; "Wish I Knew Which Side I'm On," the jazz-trippy instrumental track 11 (no title, just a symbol), "Sun," and the stoner-ballad "Damned If I Should Care," which leads into "Coming To." The intro to this song is akin to Zep's "No Quarter," but then explodes into a great old-school metal riff reminding me of the Welsh Metal Gods Legend. The more I listen to this CD, the more it grows on me. Really cool shit! Blind Dog is by far one of the best of this new breed. A must for any old-school metal head! Also, check out the cool new compilation and official MeteorCity soundtrack "I Am Vengeance" which features 18 doom-metal (I just hate using the term "stoner rock") anthems from Lowrider, Eternal Elysium, sHeavy, Bongwater666, The Quill, Doomsday Gouvernment and many others.
THE CULT
Beyond Good And Evil
Lava/Atlantic
Who would imagine these "has-been" alternative hardrockers would make an amazing comeback with such an incredibly heavy new record! The twelve songs featured on this CD are well-written rock/metal anthems, the musicianship superb, the production is solid as a (bob) rock, and Ian Asbury sings his ass off! The band should have thought of this chemistry years before releasing such trite crap as "Ceremony" and the album that followed (which was so unimpressive I can't even remember the title.) From start to finish, this CD kicks ass. "War (The Process)" opens with a heavy guitar riff, killer bass groove, and powerful vocals from Asbury. The following tracks; "Rise" and "Take The Power" follow in similar fashion. Great melodies and power-driven guitar riffs courtesy of mainstay Billy Duffy. The songs have that trademark "Cult" sound, but with a modern production and ultra-heavy grooves. This band has never sounded so good! Track 4, "Take the Power" is one of the heaviest tunes this band has written, displaying a great industrialized riff with excellent vocal work once again from Asbury and solid drum work by Matt Sorum. Unlike most "reunited" bands from the '80s who release pathetic albums with only a song or two that are worth a shit, all the tunes on this record are gems! It's obvious The Cult took the time and energy to do things right this time around proving they are serious about making a comeback. Something other old-school hard rockers, like AC/DC (rehashed, uninspired riffs) and Aerosmith (mindless, commercial sap) should have learned long ago. The music on Beyond Good and Evil shows power, integrity, diversity and a shitload of attitude. Not something that can be accomplished overnight. The Cult are well-deserving of a major comeback.
Shockwaves CD Reviews Issue 5 Page 10