ENGLISH DOGS
(US –Based METAL version)
The Thing With Two Heads
Candlelight Records
Following on from a successful 2012 US Tour performing the
classic punk-metal crossover records “To the ends of the Earth” and “Forward
Into Battle”, this version of the English Dogs with core members of the lineup
that recorded those releases, Vocalist Ade Bailey, guitarist Gizz Butt, and
drummer Pinch hatched plans to record and release new material culminating in The Thing With Two Heads.
The Thing with Two
Heads commences with the single Turn
away from the light. Crunchy metal
that at once incorporates death metal and rap style vocals. It’s clear from the
start that they’re fully embracing their metal side. Freak Boy continues the theme, speeding up a tad, and revealing a hint
of the punk roots past. Organized and
Hate song continue in the same vein. Ghost note
has a bit more energy and pace. Then there is the sea shanty that is Up from the depths, and The thing will arise channelling 80’s metal.
Side two opens with the promising Planet of the living dead which
is perhaps the closest they come to channelling their old selves here; with its
speedy delivery and the “whoahs”, melodic solo, it’s easily one of the best
songs on the record. Royal flying corpse
is great, except it sounds like an Iron Maiden song. It’s all downhill from
here. Rectify sounds like they have
been listening to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers for fucks sake. Down
with the Underdogs starts out like a
ballad, is too long and too overblown.
I found it a challenge to listen to the
whole thing. There are some good moments in this epic, when it picks up about
half way, just when I’ve gone to sleep. I thought I was dreaming that they
sounded like they should again ... they almost recapture that old energy.....
for a minute.
Lyrically there’s many references to “The thing with two
heads”. Some of the lyrics are not only
uninspired, but, pretty well, embarrassing. Hate
song is an example “Just for
you/here’s a hate song/and it makes me sad to say you’ve made my shitty day/
And I’m sick, sick of dealing with a retard/ 1-2 Fuck You/3-4 What a bore/5-6
Whiny bitch/You ain’t nothing but a retard/Fuck You”. Really. It appears Pinch channels
the lyrics of his other band The Damned’s Love
Song and recycles them.
The Thing With Two
Heads was touted as “the missing link” between To the ends of the Earth and Forward
Into Battle by drummer Pinch but this doesn’t appear evident. There’s more
in common with the ambitious Tolkienesque
Where legend began (which I don’t mind) and the crunchy metal of
Gizz Butt’s later English Dogs incarnations in the 90’s. To the
ends of the Earth and Forward Into
Battle may not have had the best production but there was a distinct energy
that was captured there. What also made them was the merge of equal parts punk
and metal. Their punk roots were still evident and really shaped those records
and sound. There’s a relentless raw
ferocity and punk energy that was present on To the ends of the Earth and Forward Into Battle – inclusive of the
metal solos -that is lacking here, and they
have all but abandoned their punk side.
The Thing With Two
Heads was recorded over several sessions, with all the members recording separately,
but I’ll give ’em that it sounds cohesive. While you expect the appropriate
changes in production in a thirty year gap, The
Thing With Two Heads is a bit too tight and slick. The playing is good, the
guitars are spot on, as is the rhythm section, and Bailey stays within his
vocal range, for the most part
Package wise this is a bit of a funny one. There’s some love
and a care gone into it, absolutely. Great artwork and all. But.
There’s a comic book appeal (see the title lettering) that kinda gives
the game away. Nice gatefold sleeve which harks back to their earlier releases. There’s
lyrics inside the gatefold, but the print is small and obscured by the
Tolkienish cartoony fantasy drawings. Good quality green vinyl and sound though.
Look. I didn’t expect them to
rehash To the ends of the Earth or Forward
Into Battle. But I was excited by the prospect of them harnessing some of
that energy again and creating another
punk-metal masterpiece. And they have got to move on, get with the times etc
etc. And I do like it, and will listen to it. But it just could have been
so much more if they had gone back to
being the English Dogs rather than the Metal Dogs. There
may not have been such a high expectation had they not made the claim that it
would be the “missing link between “ To the ends of the Earth” and
“Forward Into Battle” – because it has little in common
with those records. They are more intent on showcasing that they can play
different types of metal here. Had they kept in touch with their former selves,
and retained their identity this could have been fuckin’ great, instead of OK.
If you didn’t know it was the “English Dogs”, you couldn’t put the old record
against this and still say it was the same band. Things could have been better,
rather than them just being a by-the numbers metal outfit.
In
an interview with Gizz Butt a few years ago he said he regretted “not staying
with the formula and going over the top with Where legend began
”. So what the fuck?
I would have loved to have been more
positive on this one. And after all it’s only my opinion right? But I did fork out for it.
Maybe I’ll put it on in 6 months and
go “Well fuck. Now I get it”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBGM2GJ6xPQ
