DOOMDOGS (Unleash The Truth) 2LP/CD
The DoomDogs return with a new output called 'Unleash The Truth'. Is that an imperative? Do I have to? Okay. To keep it short, I just say, this thing rocks. Buy it. For those that do indeed need a more detailed reason why, here it is: The guys from Sweden give those of you that need a serious trip through most of whatever music got influenced by Black Sabbath the total dose. This means the band does not rip off the Sabbath formula at all. No. Even the closing Sab Four cover 'A National Acrobat' that features Victor Griffin on lead guitar has its own Dogs character. The four guys from Gothenburg with the name that would make you think of some super-slow Doom with barked vocals take us on a journey from the valley of Stoner grooves through heavy Doom riff country and right to a river of psychedelic 70s rock.
Best example of that are already the first two tracks. While the opener 'Eye For An Eye' kicks off rocking and grooving with a slight change to 70s proto Doom the following 'Save Me' with its incorporated mellotron and heavy riffing sounds like Crowbar on a 70s prog trip. The vocals, both melodic and harsh, are the cause for that reference to New Orleans' finest. The DoomDogs got two major things that make this album so good. First I have to say that I really dig the production. The guitar is not totally overly distorted and leaves enough for a prominent bass that never gets buried and whose good playing is shown especially when the lead guitars set in and the Dogs do without lead overdubs over rhythm guitars. They do good in allowing themselves to be basic there and let the bass show its full potential, for example in the 70s worshipping 'Magic Of The Black Circle'. The second thing is that they are able to write a great hookline that will stick in your head every now and then. The chorus to 'The Annie-Christ' did not leave my mind for days. And 'Slight Case Of Madness' is not any worse.
Add some more cool songs like 'Welcome To The Future' that at first is slow and depressing and later on gets a bit more groove without loosing its Doom. Even the legacy titled instrumental with its simple acoustic guitar work and the mellow flute melody sounds great to this reviewers ears. This has definitely not the class of Jethro Tull but it just works in it easiness. The DoomDogs’s blend of heaviness, whether they rock ('Slight Case Of Madness', 'Two Wheel Wonder'), doom out ('Mind Slayer') or follow a more psychedelic path ('Magic Of The Black Hand'), is just good. The only complaint I might have is, that I think a few songs less and a playing time under 70 minutes would have been good. But with so much good material, where do you shorten an album? I would not have known either, I guess.
(Thorsten Frahling)