Doomriders | ‘Darkness Come Alive’

It’s hard to shake the feeling that Doomriders are a fun break for people with ‘serious’ bands, and as such never seem to have consistently produced material that is significantly above average.

Sure, previous album ‘Black Thunder’ had a few cool songs, especially the title track, but it comes to the driving power of the home groups that comprise the band, they’ve always been content to sit back and happily riff away without much drive or intensity.

That might sound harsh, but when a group is comprised of individuals from luminary groups like Converge and Cast Iron Hike, it’s only right to expect some serious bang for your buck.

But enough of that. Getting down to business, it only takes one quick listen to ‘Darkness Come Alive’ to note the group has decided to swing things in a far more ‘serious’ direction. Gone is Nate Newton’s impassioned yowlings that stood out as a high point of their previous album, instead we’re given a far more straight-laced performance.

The guitar histronics are also gone, with angular, if somewhat to-the-point guitar workouts now dominates. This certainly works in places, with the breakout in ‘Come Alive’ being a prime example. Resembling a somewhat more restrained Baroness, with insistent vocal lines tugging away at the edges of a pretty killer riff.

More often than not though, it’s a strangely drab affair for the group. To come back to that Baroness comparison, that band’s last release, the excellent ‘Blue Record’, was a masterclass in how to write excellent music of this style. In comparison, just like its artwork, this Doomriders album seems drained of that requisite colour and flare.

‘Jealous God’ is a prime example, with the band playing the sort of chords and chugs that all sound in the right area of the fretboard, but lack any real drive or distinguishing trait. They get back to their better form when things are sped up, like on ‘Bloodsuckers’, with a hefty gang chorus managing to raise it out of the gloom and inject a spark of life.

Overall though, the lengthy 45 minutes of this album are hard to justify. Not even dwelling on the smattering of completely pointless and momentum-sapping interludes that it includes, the general level of whip and crack that is served up here is sorely lacking. Drive and power are what’s required, and in the end, the final decent track in the form of ‘Rotter’ works more as an apology for the lack of class on exhibit. Their inclusion on a label as insipid as Deathwish is sadly justified, which is shame as they sound like they really have it in them to do so much better.

2.2 / 5 - Lorcan Archer ::: 26/12/09