Maybe in 2030 we’ll stop doing these lists featuring a number corresponding to the given year and make it a little easier for us but for now we’re still finding it hard to whittle down the artists and albums that kicked ass for us so if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it, y’know? And 2022 delivered yet again!
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I love me some Dog Fashion Disco, okay? Jasan Stepp and crew (Including one of my all time favorite singers in Todd Smith) has been ripping it up for years across a plethora of projects which now includes In The Blind. Featuring an array of talent that features Stepp on guitar alongside former Nothingface bassist Bill Gaal, DFD’s John Ensminger behind the kit, and Megosh vocalist Josh Grosscup, debut record Evolve & Escape is unlike anything fans have heard from Stepp up to this point.
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Knives Out! is indeed back and once again features drummer Tommy Sickles, vocalist Todd Smith, guitarist Jasan Stepp (Who, ahem, steps into the lead gee-tar with Tom Maxwell absent from these recordings), and bassist Bill Gaal replacing David Cullen this time around. But if you’re looking at this as a Nothingface reunion featuring some guys from Dog Fashion Disco and Polkadot Cadaver then please get the fuck outta here right now. Sure, the framework for each of those bands lies within but Knives Out! has always been wholly a different beast altogether.
Heavier, more brutal, and more EVIL than its predecessor, Left In The Lurch is the Knives Out! record fans have been clamoring for in the years that followed the band’s initial outing.
“Deny Your Maker” is a riff-fueled master course in how to metal properly with Todd Smith leading the proceedings like a veritable madman. Y’all still drooling over Mike Patton? Smith is the real deal. Equal parts maniacal ringleader, whispering serial killer, and undeniable crooner, Smith has a range that is unparalleled in the world of modern metal. With commanding lines like “I am your god now/Look in my eyes/I am your master of pain and suffering!”, Smith owns the mic and in turn, all his followers.
“Mysterious Ways” is like being on an out-of-control rollercoaster. It’s Tommy Sickles’ insane fills and constant pummeling, Stepp and his maximum riffage, Gaal’s gruesome low end rumbles, and Smith’s crazy range.
You know what? Every song is like a rollercoaster!
“Give Up The Ghost” speeds along at a frenetic pace thanks to Sickles’ incendiary drumming then settles into these obscene grooves that’d make Lamb Of God weep with envy until the title track comes along and Stepp’s guitars sonically mesh into an unholy aurgasm.
If your brain is still intact after all of that then songs like “Gomorrah”, “Fuck My Way To Hell”, and “Cherished Possession” (Which features an anthemic chorus akin to “Hysteria” from their debut) are still waiting to ruin all other metal for listeners because of their brilliance.
Left In The Lurch is out now via Razor To Wrist. Bundles are still available here but if you seek instant gratification then head on over here and here.
Of course I’ll review an album that has my name in the “Thanks” section! That’s actually because of DFD’s Indiegogo campaign and not because of any actual affiliation to said band BUT STILL! That’s pretty freaking cool, right?
But I digress.
Dog Fashion Disco is back. Their new album is upon us! Sweet Nothings is the logical (and illogical) follow up to Adultery only bigger, badder, and brassier. It’s even a contender for album cover of the year. Seriously, check out that wolf!
SW opener “Greta” is that creepy little sister of Adultery’s “The Uninvited Guest” while “War Party” (Breaking into an evil “We Didn’t Start The Fire” verse even) is a more focused rage-a-thon than “The Sacrifice Of Miss Rose Covington” was on that aforementioned album. “Scarlet Fever” follows with its staccato bursts of excitement and never has a baritone saxophone sounded so exciting (You know, outside of the usual jazz circles and in Morphine).
Todd Smith’s range is still incredible. Jasan Stepp absolutely shreds. And the horns are everywhere! If you’re feeling “horny” look no further than “Tastes So Sweet” or “Doctor’s Orders” (Remember Average White Band’s classic in Superman II? That’s “Doctor’s Orders). If anything, Sweet Nothings proves that the internet provides tenfold giving Dog Fashion Disco the “Oingo Boingo on methamphetamines” sound they were always destined to have.
Is it the comeback of the year? Pretty much. And it’s the best thing DFD has put out to date. Now it’s time to see if the rest of the world will finally wake up to their brand of musical brilliance.
Sweet Nothings is out now through Razor To Wrist Records! It’s brilliant. Buy yours here and let me live vicariously through you by purchasing the “Envy The Vultures” hoodie. Be the “envy” of your friends and scare the crap out of the kiddies at the same time.