Album review : D-A-D Speed Of Darkness
AFM Records [Release date 04.10.24]
Not often we review a museum piece.
Copenhagen’s Peoples Museum is celebrating D-A-D’s 40 years in the music business this year.
The band itself is recognising this milestone with a double album of brand new material, Speed Of Darkness.
Many of the headline hardrock bands of the late seventies/ early eighties were allowed time to develop and fine tune their sound by the label they had signed to. It was a patient approach often rewarded by huge album sales.
The fact that D-A-D have never been afforded the luxury of consistent, third party financial underpinning speaks volumes for their tenacity and persistence.
Arguably, 2011’s Dic Nil Lan Daft Erd Ark was the pinnacle of the band’s recorded work, rock music developed during 30 years of road tests; smart, skilful songwriting and considerable studio experience.
Arguably, ever since that point the band have been honing their sound, making minor adjustments here, small changes there, cultivating musical deftness in order to further animate their lyrical ideas.
That process has led to this, their 13th album, hitting the target with unerring accuracy on ‘God Prays To Man’s painful observation of a world in turmoil; Singing like a preacherman on the electrifying ‘First, Second and Third’; The vocal shadows on the bluesy love song, ‘Head Over Heels’, creating texture and depth; and so on and on.
The sheer commerciality of Nick Foss’s production raises the music a notch or two above most of the previous albums. It’s clear that the band, Jacob and Jesper Binzer, Laust Sonne and Stig Pederson were all tuned to the same wavelength here, knocking out song after song with fresh, sometimes Stonesy sounding riffs and tough, melodic hooks. With each lyric carrying an emotional weight and a rewarding payoff.
The band is midway through a 24 stop European tour (all sold out), culminating mid December in Hamburg.
Their fans are in for a treat. ****1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Nikk Gunns adds…
Danish legends D-A-D have recently celebrated their 40th anniversary and as new album “Speed of Darkness” proves, they sound as fresh as ever- in fact, all new bands should be handed a copy of this album and told this is what 40 sounds like.
Album number 13 is a 14-track masterclass without a weak moment in sight. The songs on offer here range from the classic D-A-D of “Crazy Wings” to the excellent opening track “God Prays to Man” to the more chaotic sounding “Waiting Is The Way” or the slower “The Ghost”, which reminds me of the band’s 2002 “Soft Dogs” album, and there are a couple of other slower numbers in “Head Over Heels” and “I’m Still Here”.
Personally, my favourite track on “Speed of Darkness” is “Keep That MF Down”, but I could have easily picked “1st, 2nd & 3rd”, “Automatic Survival” , the album’s title track itself or “In My Hands” as this really is one of those records where you are spoilt for choice (and unusual to see a 14 track album these days too).
Over the decades D-A-D have released consistently good albums, and this one is no let down to that great catalogue of material. The band have quite a few gigs lined up for later this year and it would be good to think they may make it as far as the UK in the near future as their live show is always fun and well worth catching if you haven’t had the chance before. *****
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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