Cool…
When Diamondog is ripping it up Motorhead-style, “Kill Me” kills. When the band slows down — and it slows down quite a bit — the album becomes a bit of a lifeless affair.
The album blasts out of the gates with “Hurt,” which has a nice punky style, with a chugging riff and slithering lead guitar part, courtesy of Morten Husvik and Havard Traethaug. The song also gives Mikael Lillevold a chance to show off his pipes. Then, it’s off to another speedy rocker, “Kill Me,” with Frode Heistad’s bass pleasantly prevalent in the mix. So far, so good.
“Lost In Tranquility” is a nice Foo Fighters-type poppy track, with an easily-sung-along-with chorus and nice wah-wah guitar part. So far, so good.
Unfortunately, it’s followed up by the plodding “This Is A Love Song,” which, like the quieter “Don’t You Die” and “Keep Me Safe” feel much longer than their 4-minute-or-so running time. “Keep Me Safe” especially seems to drag on endlessly, with Lillevold repeating the title over and over.
Then again, you can just skip past those tracks and enjoy stuff like the poppy “No Other Name,” with its Angus Young-on-speed fills, the angry “If” and the disc’s speedy closer, “Like A Diamond.”
The production on the disc is good, with a nice balance between the guitars and Heistad’s Lemmy-style distorted bass. One small nitpick might be that the drums feel a smidge tinny, but that’s definitely in keeping with the band’s punk influence.
A handful of plodding slow tunes keep Diamondog’s “Kill Me” from being a perfect gem. Still, those that like their rock speedy and sweaty will find plenty to enjoy.
1. Hurt
2. Kill me
3. Lost in tranquility
4. This is a lovesong
5. No other name
6. Let it show
7. Messed up
8. Don’t you die
9. If
10. Keep me safe
11. Like a diamond