REVIEW: Doomriders – Darkness Come Alive

Artist: Doomriders
Album: Darkness Come Alive
Label: Deathwish Inc.
Websites: www.myspace.com/doomriders
& www.deathwishinc.com

If you were unaware of the regular bands that
the members of Doomriders call home,
then you wouldn’t realize that Doomriders is
more than just a mere side project, it’s more like a hardcore supergroup. Granted, I wouldn’t necessarily
classify this as a hardcore record. It’s actually difficult for me to
classify this record into any genre other than the vast umbrella
of hard rock. It changes styles so seamlessly and effectively
that you’d have a hard time classifying it too.

“Fade From Black” slowly builds up, sounding epic in its’ nature,
ultimately wheting your appetite before it flows right into
“Heavy Lies the Crown”, which sounds like old school Mastodon.
It chugs along as they rail away against society’s ills.
It gets angry as they bellow “Pretenders beware/Strike you
down where you stand”. If you like grooving
hard rock then this will fit the bill for you. “Knife Wound” begins
quickly and keeps at that pace for a while, almost sounding
like Pro-Pain with aggressive vocals and heavy, fast paced metal.
They eventually decide to slow it down and grind it out for a while
when the chorus hits, ending abruptly so they can hit you with the
next surprise.

“Come Alive” slowly begins, building up with tribal sounding drums and
energetic riffing. It gets a burst of energy as searing riffs take over
along with vocals that are reminiscent of Glenn Danzig. Wow, this is just
a great song that you can easily rock out to. If this isn’t one of the
best songs you’ll hear all year then you’re obviously not paying
attention. “The Equalizer” begins quickly with a ton of energy and angry
vocals. Hooky and catchy as hell, it gets less aggressive and more
meloidc once its time to unleash the chorus upon you. It’s a nice song
that you can rock out and groove to, despite introspective lyrics that
might persuade you to dig a little deeper: “Your death starts creeping
up/When your life begins.” “Bloodsuckers” is fast paced and full of
angst. Angry, throaty vocals lead the way as the band unleashes
furious punk on you. The music isn’t all that complicated but it’s so
damn effective. And that’s what the majority of this album sounds
like: it’s hard to classify and isn’t complicated but it’s so effective that
I don’t blame them for playing straightforward music instead of trying
to show off.

This is easily one of the best records I’ve heard this year.

Rating: 7 out of 10.
Recommended tracks: Come Alive, Heavy Lies the Crown, Knife Wound,
The Equalizer

Track listing:
1. Fade From Black
2. Heavy Lies the Crown
3. Bear Witness
4. Knife Wound
5. Come Alive
6. Night Howler
7. Crooked Path
8. Lions
9. The Equalizer
10. Night Lurker
11. Jealous God
12. Mercy
13. Night Reckons
14. Blood Avenger
15. Bloodsuckers
16. .
17. Rotter