Dead Neon – Self-Titled
Monday, October 18th, 2010
Genres: Doom, Sludge
Label: Ecophagy Records
This review here is an oddity for me. First up, I got it from Clawhammer PR, which isn’t odd. But HOW I got it from them is: the singer of the band, Jarret Keene, specifically asked Clawhammer to ask me to do the review. I feel honored, Jarret.
Now, the music contained within this album: wow. Picture Black Sabbath sped up a little, with some High on Fire thrown in, maybe some Orange Goblin too. It’s definitely a classic style of doom, traditional to the core, but touches of sludge are in this too. Fucking great primitive nuclear METAL.
You can tell that Jarret is new to the guitar, because of the rawness of the riffs, the sound, everything, and it does not detract at all. The fact that he’s self-taught and has barely been playing for a year adds to the music, and his doctorate in English makes the lyrics that much more potent. He can throw down more metaphors and similes than most lyricists.
Jaq and Jessie’s drums and bass keep this rhythmic monster solid and gorgeously slow, while pounding the horrors of nuclear Armageddon into my conscious and subconscious. I don’t think I’ll sleep proper for awhile after listening to this.
If you want to take a trip through a nuclear wasteland covered in people succumbing to the horrors of radiation, starvation, and worse of all each other, take a trip with Dead Neon. It’s fucking awesome, and I know this is going to be on my own Top 10 for awhile.
My favorite songs are “Doom Town”, “Cancer Eater”, and the folked up album closer “Ride the Light”.
10 out of 10.
Dead Neon on MySpace.