This latest album by DOPE still has a familiar feel reaching back to their previous work. Lyrically the songs haven’t become anymore intricate but then you don’t listen to DOPE for the complexity of the lyrics, searching for hidden meanings or to ignite your intellect and that is absolutely acceptable.
You know exactly what you’re getting with this band; a highly energetic heavy metal sound mixed with a dirty industrial beat from the late nineties with songs about sex, drugs, ex’s and life generally being a long, depressing endurance.
Despite having been quiet for many years on the new material front, Edsel has written songs that are more personable to him, displaying his internal growth and believes these tracks better represent his life. This has lead to so much new material being written that the band felt it was best to split the new collection of songs over two albums to keep them together and affordable.
I have two favourite songs; namely ‘1999′ which is very much a classic DOPE song with a fantastic entrance to it, a whaling cry into the heavy chug of guitar and drums. ‘A New Low’ is my second choice with a wide range of changes going on, it’s a real anthem styled-song with pinch harmonics.
Things dramatically slow down for the forth track, ‘Lexapro’, which is a much more mournful song about the loss of a girl. Simply using a synth and a piano gives this song a lot of atmosphere and gravitas.
‘Numb’ feels like a throw back to the early noughties with lots of violin synthesizer action and voice manipulation, which has a great nostalgic feel to it but has a very different feel to any other song on the album with it’s slower pace.
This fifteen song-strong album over all has a lot less obscenity-based lyrics compared to the well-known stylings of ‘Die Motherfucker Die’. Instead, you find that Blood Money is a lot more about internalizing and self-reflecting than previous outward and raged-filled albums, which should continue into the second half of the same album.
Part 1 still retains the power churning riffs and beats you’ve come to expect of DOPE. Each of the songs have been well structured, regularly switching styles throughout which helps to provide the energy and holds your interest.
This first half of the new duel album will not disappoint previous fans of DOPE and if you’re new to the band, then it’s a good introduction to the chaotic mind of front man, Edsel Dope.
Blood Money Part 1 is available on Friday 28th of October and the band are playing one UK show on November 7th.
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[…] The album Blood Money Part 1 is out now, here is what we had to say about it: “This a very good album, still remaining true to their original sound whilst attacking life and the issues that comes with it from a different angle, a more inward look at oneself rather than all out war on every person around us. It is a familiar face with a different haircut and after a wait this long for new material, it is a welcomed album.” See the full review here. […]