Dogbane (review)

Dogbane  (U.S.): Residual Alcatraz  (Heaven and Hell Rec.)

Dogbane goes back and forth between traditional heavy metal and doom metal, and in any case, it is “big riff” metal, so that the guitar work sounds like it comes from a secret riff vault that Tony Iommi has put away somewhere in a hidden corner of Greensboro, North Carolina, where Dogbane found it, opened it and hit the jackpot.

Dogbane basically has a bit of everything for people who like different moods in their heavy metal, but this is key: variety only within the field of straight traditional heavy metal. For Dogbane, the metal genres that came after 1982 are essentially of no interest to them. Thus, no thrash, death, black, grind, no core, no emo screamo, no breakdowns, no poppy melodies and no funny-looking haircuts and things like that.

“Born to Die,” “Devil in the Dark,” “Ride the Serpent,” “Residual Alcatrazz” and “How the Mighty Have Fallen” are songs with uptempo mood, the kind that makes the Europeans at metal festivals start to shout “hey, hey, hey” with their fist in the hair, and a beer in the other, saying to each other, “Dogbane ist gut! Bier und metal!”

On the other hand, “Banished,” “Annihilator,” and “Fire and Brimstone” take things at a slower tempo to emphasize the heaviness of doom. Sabbath, Trouble and Candlemass are all reference points for the slow motion riffs that circle around. These songs have some melody to them, but it is not too sugary. The longest song on the album is “Burning in the Light” and it is almost 10 minutes long. In said track they summarize everything they do, from the uptempo, to the doom, the heaviness and the melody.

Naturally, Dogbane is about clarity of sound, so the bass guitar is audible and alive in this album. The clear vocals fit the music, in a 70s doom/New Wave of British Heavy Metal, sort of slightly rough, street-metal style. The sound quality has an honesty to it that doomheads will like. 

Dogbane is a balance of heavy metal and doom. C’mon, now doomsters got to check out! www.dogbaneband.com