Slaves On Dope's latest album smears the boundaries between dangerously heavy and gracefully melodic even more than any of their past efforts. The band are downright vicious when the material calls for it, with furious vocals and gritty downtuned guitarwork, but also bridge this darker side with a calmed and restrained side that is rife with melody and emotion. Although the band do decidedly have a new metal sound, there's isn't any direct comparison that comes to mind while listening to the them, although some influences such as Faith No More do shine through to the a watchful ear.

Vocally the album is loaded with energy and can break into violent vocal chord burning screams in an instant. Heavy dynamic usage is in place as words switch from an spoken word rant style into fearless enraged aggression, and the power that is conveyed as a result is almost overwhelming. Meanwhile, the softer side of the band can bring to mind an almost Tool-ish atmosphere at times, but there's a certain edge to it that allows it to stand on its own and heighten the flow of the songs, all the while creating a brutal tug of war of emotions. Guitars are moody and shell out relentless modern metal riffs complete with a rugged distortion and moderate downtuning. Some tripped out effects are used and there's attention focused to build-up and pauses which makes the music hit hard, fast and rough. Bass is also downtuned a bit and fills out the bottom end with quaking hits and tacks a weighty depth to the guitar riffs, setting the stage for a powerful stringed assault. Drums feel stiff and batter out rapid paced rolls and utilize ample snare variation. The kit is played with an odd and unfamiliar feel, as pulverizing floor toms hits are thrown in and melt into deft snare led beats that shift effortlessly into full scale tom rolls, fading into build-ups that play heavily on silence and cymbal work.

Overall the band is quite impressive and although there is a definite modern metal influence, the band aren't exactly what you could classify as a Korn clone. There's no rapping or squealing effects in place, instead the bands colorful mix of melody and anger almost feels like a return to more traditional roots. Their key strength lies in the ability to churn out completely frenzied vocals that are accentuated by the jagged guitar riffs in tow and effectively channel their passion into restrained emotion, mixing the two back and forth consistently and efficiently. The lyrics are also easily related to and the band seems to prey on a more primal instinct rather than incite deep thinking from the listener. This may also be their weak point though, as many listeners seek out something that is a bit more cryptic and the music may feel a bit basic to those who are looking for something that is technically challenging. But for what it is, this CD definitely accomplishes the task of providing an outlet for release for the listener to get off on. Slaves On Dope tap into a handful of emotions on this release and their grating rage permeates the music, but its the fine cut between mellow and livid states the band has, that make this CD unexpectedly addictive, and although the straight forward nature of it may have some of its users moving onto a more encompassing fix earlier than hoped for, it still stands a worthy listen.
(4 / 5)