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From
the label that brought us Naked Raygun, Calexico and Kepone comes this
first full length of Louisville, KY’s loyal hard rockers/heavy
metalheads Dead Child. The funny thing is despite the fact that
I was familiar with the band -as over a year ago I had
reviewed
their EP- for some reason I was expecting Dead Child to deliver
more of a pure stoner rock storm. Maybe my memory fails.
Anyways, instead, Attack falls halfway through the big
moody chunks of fat stoner guitar riffing and the epic flailing
moods of a classic power metal band. There is a bit more of a
couple other subgenres thrown around for good effect; but as a
whole Attack is surprisingly traditional in all the hard
rock/heavy metal sense of the word. Also, that Dead Child counts
as a member no other than Slint guitarist Dave Pajo helps makes
matters a bit more unusual. But if you think about the fact that
when he cured the All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2004 he personally
invited Pennsylvania’s rockers Pearls and Brass then you know…Attack
is just alright.
And it’s not a
matter of trueness really. It’s a matter of music. And Dead
Child do good iron work through these eleven solid rockers. I
don’t necessarily want to say that Attack starts off
(“Sweet Chariot”) in metalcore mode, but the jumpiness and
inclusive melody of this song creates an impact that is not
necessarily descriptive of the rest of the record. Everywhere
else, the music stands within walking distance of mid tempo
classic doom. Not at all the ultra slow, dead pace or funeral
doom so en vogue today. We are talking the 80’s kind of doom
that was played by seminal bands like Pentagram, Saint Vitus and
Candlemass.
By far the most
classic element of Dead Child are the vocals of Dahm. He is a
real singer indeed. Of the type that’s now missed, because he
can actually sing like real vocalists did back in the 70’s and
80’s. His inflexions are great. He doesn’t only carry the tunes,
but on occasions steals them, goes off running and disappears in the
distance. Attack is good all
around, but also since it is clearly crafted with the past in
mind it fails to be outstanding.
Official Site
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