Adie’s vox have a character that brings the great speedcore compositions of the ENGLISH DOGS to a thundering proportion, raw, uncompromising, and shouting. They blurt well with this crazed line-up. The DOGS really work the musical structure with award-winning appeal. A bit of work goes into these songs. Bang.
This album features the addition of Graham (ex-DESTRUCTORS) to guitar duties, whose work is sharp and noticeable. But when the ENGLISH DOGS changed singers and did the classic To the Ends of the Earth 12″, I expected a churning explosion of insanity on this one. Instead, I got half of that. Bummed, but trying to be fair, this has more approaches to mainstream metal than speedmetal, which is well-executed and craveable for all you fanatics. The speed stuff is great, storms with power and exertion.
Yowsaaah! You say ENGLISH DOGS equals GBH clones, a ho-hum mucacho. You ain’t heard this! Blisters with speedcore franticness, mean with whining licks as it kicks into a maniac pace. Well-organized melodies that cry out in terrorizing metallic thrash. While some bands are trying to be metal, ENGLISH DOGS are just the dawning of speedcore. Put that on again, chalk one up for Rot!
Missed this one last issue. Maybe that had to do with the lame cover, but the contents aren’t bad at all. While they do sound like GBH-clones (early period), they do it well. Lots of power and drive, with lyrics that are more intelligent (or intelligible) than their mentors.
It’s not always fair to make comparisons with well-known bands, but in this case the sound is just too close to let it slide. The fast tempos, metallic guitars, lyrics, and vocal delivery all add up to… GBH, so decide on that basis.
