Scotland’s groove metal machine Dog Tired are here with their 5th release; ‘The Red Verse’. This is the follow up to the highly acclaimed ‘The Electric Abyss’ (2019) and to those familiar with the band, a sign of growing from strength to strength. Praised for their intensity and consistency with their delivery, many cite that this is potentially the band’s best release but for me, it is my first exposure to them. So let’s just get into it shall we?
The album opens up with a bleak atmosphere, almost DOOM-like in its use of anticipation building samples, before much like the demon slaying series of games, it explodes into a violent cacophony. “Fracture” is an explosive battery of tightly wound metal riffs which relentlessly hammer away across a sea of thundering drums and under a barrage of huge vocal roaring. When the press release said that this band would be for fans of Gojira and similar sounding artists, they weren’t lying. The phenomenally huge sound is reminiscent of the French metal titans but not quite at that level. “Eyes of the Divine” follows this up with a bit more of an emphasis on the groove element instead. Steadier paced but still loaded with bursts of intense activity, the bass and drums are solid as hell on this track. Rolling beats shift into flashes of blasts before adopting a steady pounding pace which allows the guitars to add the extra kick needed to give it that massive sound it needs. “Of Severed Gods” ups the ante and kicks things back to the hyper intense and aggressive delivery once more. Almost modern thrash-like in its delivery, it is a relentless assault of rapid fire riffing and harshly snarled vocals which are punctuated by massive drum fills which scream out ‘LOMBARDO’ as an influence! So far things have been good but will it persist?
“The Wall” is a thunderous track which has the huge groove elements in it once more, but this time joined by an intense and tight pseudo-industrial vibe a la Fear Factory. The tight timing and big low end presence wouldn’t seem out of place on the late 90s/early 2000’s FF albums but thankfully the vocals are solid instead of being the mess that is Burton C. Bell when it comes to microphone work. “Mars” brings back that feeling of DOOM. Given how the series is based on the red planet, it seems fitting, especially with its massive presence and powerful edge. Initially a steady paced, crushing groove monster, the track picks up the pace round the halfway point. A thundering chug riff with a fast pace joins in and things get more intense. Bigger vocal roars, tight blasts and good chord voicings give it a bigger presence and really up the intensity of the release and you get the feeling that things are only going to get heavier.
“Relic” shifts that anticipation on its head completely. An atmospheric instrumental which is predominantly acoustic guitar arpeggios delivered with a sorrowful tone to their bittersweet melody, it slows things down and gives you a breather whilst simultaneously allowing you to marvel at the proficient display of acoustic guitar. This instrumental progresses before it shifts into a heavily distorted progression towards its end which helps the track transition into “It Awaits”, another massively intense track with a fast pace and huge work from the drums. With a very thrash-like edge to its delivery, it’s a tightly controlled attack of aggressive riffs and vocals which has hints of Revocation to its delivery. “Godless Carrion Pit” which follows has a massive groove which really emphasizes the low end of the band’s sound. Blending big chugging riffs and twisting sections it shifts towards another demonic sounding monster of a track. The bellowing vocals and clever shifts in the groove riffs bring hints of Mastodon and in some ways it reminds me of said band’s work from ‘Leviathan’. It’s got that intricate and prog vibe but still retains the fierce metal bite.
“Pillars Of Phobos” continues the references to the red planet. Starting off clean with another atmospheric composition, it soon shifts to a tight, progressive metal leaning groove attack. Big harmony riffs and twisting licks work in tandem to create a massive sounding and imposing beast of a track which helps ramp up the suspense for the final track of the release; “The Red Verse”. Starting with a slow paced groove which has a big crushing feel to it, the track slowly lumbers forwards, once again bringing that Mastodon vibe. The controlled slow pace allows for the lingering riffs to give a solid background for the massive vocal roars and the way the drums go from pounding to rapid fire helps up the atmospheric impact. Soon enough the track explodes to a frenzy of activity, doubling the pace but retaining that fierce groove edge and it serves as a good finish to a solid release.
In all, “The Red Verse” is a great mix of thrash and groove metal at its core with some good flashes of melodic work to add some variety to the sound. Whilst consistent in its delivery across the album, at times it does kind of blend together to only a few stand out moments, giving you that feeling of getting lost in a lot of the music as background noise, and at times it can feel a little too drawn out, but it is still a well put together record.
(7.5/10 Fraggle)
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