Review Summary: A glorious riff filled stomp through the land of doom. Influenced from the classics of both metal and hardcore, Doomriders blend the two together seamlessly while throwing in some good old fashioned rock n' roll.
Looking past the cheesy but awesome cover art you will soon find that there is a lot more here than some goth punk or heavy metal rip off band. Headed by Nate Newton of Converge and Old Man Gloom, this band really has a talent for stoner grooves and hardcore romps. The duel guitar melodies of "Black Thunder" and "The Long Walk" instantly bring Iron Maiden to mind but this album traverses a lot of different ground sound wise. There are heavy, meandering stoner doom anthems that pick up to a gallop, fuzzed out solos and fast paced hardcore fury spread all over the album. Taking influences from the classics of just about everything under the rock 'n roll banner, the band takes you on a ride you will not forget.
Newtons vocals change from track to track but normally stay within a hardcore bellow. "Midnight Eyes" show off his singing voice, the listener will automatically make the connection to Danzig. Some of the riffs have a very Matt Pike-ish(Sleep,HOF) feel to them, along with some of the soloing. The lyrical content deals with a lot of iconic metal and punk material, portraying death, evil and darkness in a mythic or empowering way. For the more punk styled songs, you have an amazing skateboarding theme "Deathbox and " LISTEN UP! GET OFF MY ***EN BACK!!". "Worthless" has to be my favorite from the album concerning their more hardcore side while "The Chase" captures their stoner metal side well. It's worth mentioning the instrumental "Voice of Fire", it is a nice bluesy break from the unrelenting surge of power the other tracks throw at you.
There are not too many bands that can create this vibe, it's pure energy. It's obvious Newton has talent in writing songs and the rest of the musicians are really playing at top notch on this album. Of course you shouldn't be expecting a technical masterpiece if you know what this band is about, but everything, the solos, the riffs, basslines and drumming have a ton of soul. They definitely know how to use their instruments. It's easy to see this band is having a whole lot of fun with what they are doing, especially if you can catch them live. I've been listening to this album for almost 2 years now and still have to give it a listen frequently.
If you love relentless hardcore, loud and dirty classic rock with your metal, this is the album for you. The band really made a great effort with this first full length and I cannot wait for the second offering. Until then prepare yourself to be pulverized under hoof, by the Doomriders.
