reviews
FILE UNDER: Death ’n’ roll
Doomriders - Darkness Come AliveScott Heisel on 10/9/09 @ 7:00 AM
As if he hasn't accomplished enough with Converge, Nate Newton has come out from behind his bass rig and into the spotlight with his not-so-side project Doomriders. Following 2005's blistering debut Black Thunder, Newton & Co. signed up Cave In drummer J.R. Connors to solidify the lineup and got down to the business of song writing. Where Black Thunder tore from beginning to end like a tornado of blues-infused punk, the new material took shape like a category four hurricane, building slowly but relentlessly.
When it was time to record, Doomriders once again took up roost in Kurt Ballou's God City, eschewing the live-to-tape approach they used on Black Thunder. By slowing their roll and focusing on the qualities of each song, Doomriders and Ballou (Newton's bandmate in Converge) have crafted a record that is at once a monument to heaviness and a feat of disciplined songwriting.
Despite its obvious punk and metal underpinnings, Darkness Come Alive is a rock record through and through. Connors' work with Cave In has run the gamut from otherworldly prog to straight-up college rock, so his ability to apply his ample power and technicality to Doomriders rhythm duties isn't surprising. Likewise, Newton's own abilities in Converge are well documented. (That he's even able to keep pace with Ballou's unbridled fretwork is astonishing.)
The real improvements on Darkness Come Alive are in just how well the band members play off one another. Aside from his bass playing, which somehow manages to be punchy and rumbling all at once, former Disappearer low end Jebb Riley complements Newton's Danzig-meets-Tom Araya vocals with his own distinct growl. In similar fashion, Newton and former Cast Iron Hike guitarist Chris Pupecki share axe duties with seamless precision. Crunching, wailing, bending strings: the pair play off one another like they've been in Doomriders since high school.
You can't beat Black Thunder for a pure punk-n-roll rodeo ride, but Darkness Come Alive bears witness to a true rock revival, where aggression, volume and musicianship don't have to live in disparate worlds. (DEATHWISH INC.) Oakland L. Childers
GO DOWNLOAD: "Come Alive"
Official Website: http://www.deathwishinc.com
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