Album Review: Ol’ Dagger – Bobcat Dynamite

Holy fucking hell, these vocals will kill you. David Ahern-Seronde (Yar, Oscillation, Obelisk) expands his skills ever further with a wider range of high pitched screams and low growls. The guitars and drums are symbiotic in their primitivism and raw power, reminiscent of early Death and Dark Angel. The rhythm often loses itself in a decadent groove, which results in some sinuous bass lines and drum riffs. This album superimposes sludgy lethargy with thrashy energy.

Slow buildups lead into faster refrains and catchy guitar hooks. The vocals remain the focal point, while the instruments play a supportive role. The guitar has rare moments of melody, but otherwise falls in lock-step with the intoxicating beat of the bass and drums. All musical elements coalesce into a solid mass of hearty, fast-paced thrash metal. The lead guitar shreds, but the rhythm sections can admittedly be repetitive. Similarly, the album seems like it ends too soon, clocking in at about 20 minutes with 7 tracks.

Like a drunk lurching in a stupor, this music has a strange logic behind its chaos. The beat, rhythm, and melody each move away and come together in complex sequence. Bobcat Dynamite is a solid album, with enough thrash and death metal elements to satisfy most any headbanger. This release is available on Bandcamp.  Three stars out of five.