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www.churchonthursday.com
Dillinger Four
Versus God
Hopeless Records
2000
I love it. I love it. I love
it! Versus God, brought to you by Dilinger Four, is 13 ass-kicking,
face-punching, door-kicking-in, pogo-jumping, working-class-man songs.
If I only had one word to describe this killer album, raucous
would be that word.
The vocals just plain rock. I won't make a comparison to which singer/guitar player sings the majority of the songs--he does the job well. The other vocalist/guitarist has a killer rasp, strangely akin to Dickey of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The guitar work is superb for this genre. These guys grind out chords and progressions we've all heard--but then you are hooked, and look out! Wham! You get kicked in the head with some cool tempo change or a few measures of Death Metal triplets.
Mostly I love the breaks, complete with muted guitar and pounding drumbeats. These guys do everything well. The drumming as bass playing are perfectly suited for this band and the songs. I hate it when you hear a killer band and the whole thing is ruined by a crappy drummer or singer, such as Grade or Hot Water Music. Not the case with D4. You will be a happy consumer if you purchase this disc.
The production is also quite good. The engineer and producer were great. I ran sound for a while and got to check out what to do properly in a studio. Therefore I am critiquing all live sound as well as recorded products--D4 is recorded and mixed well.
I've listened to this disc non-stop for three weeks and I'm still not sick of it. I originally thought the band was a cross between Rocket From The Crypt and Dropkick Murphys, but I no longer hold that opinion. This is just rock 'n' roll D4-style. I am again going to plead with Darrel from The Burdens to check it out. This is my vision of what he would dig. He could listen to this disc loudly on a Sunday. You know, just before kick-off, when ESPN plays the old NFL films. I love those old films and the dude who announced the stuff sounds like a master orator giving a play-by-play of some ancient gladiator match. Darrel probably loves these too. Okay--here is my dream: watch a Steelers game with Darrel, drink Pabst Blue Ribbon and listen to this CD.
For those of you that require a sense of humor, D4 didn't leave you out! The album title is ...Versus God. The "concept" is made possible via samples and soundbites that come together to create an illusion of a boxing match featuring D4 vs. God, set in some Tennessee bible-thumpin' Southern Baptist church complete with snakehandlers speaking in tongues and stroking their poisonous snakes. If you are a Burdens fan, buy this CD now.
--Garren Hanon