DREADNAUGHT: Dreadnaught

Produced by Reggie Bowman and Dreadnaught
Released: 1 May

Dreadnaught's latest album starts off rather subtly with a nice melodic guitar line. After exactly one minute, a choppy staccato riff slams you in the face and it's all in from that moment on. The Melbourne quintet's fifth album all but dumps the dirty raw rock sound of their last for the more metallic stylings of earlier days, but that hasn't stopped them sounding pissed off.

It would be hard not to sound this way really, with a voice like Greg Trull's out front. His distinctive, powerful roar is like pure anger unleashed. There's also a new weapon in the Dreadnaught arsenal: the clock-stopping drumming prowess of Matt Racovalis. These guys aren't as technical as Racca's previous band Alarum, but his stickswork still gives them an extra sting in the tail. And that sting is venomous.

"Tattooed Tears" opens Dreadnaught with the pain and frustration of loss. Three people close to the band died between this album and the last, including former drummer Suds, and this sort of emotion pervades the entire set. The first four tracks pile on anger and fury in heightening degrees until the first of the brief, moody "Reflections" interludes offers short respite. Trull evokes such rage in tracks like "Save Your Life" and "Agony/Ecstacy" you almost expect to cop flecks of spittle in your ears as you listen. Musically, the band never forgets the importance of dynamics, blending catchy riffs and short bursts of rock groove with controlled injections of melody and occasional splats of lead guitar. Racovalis (he of the traditional grip) proves his mettle more than once, and no more so than with the machine-gun drumming in "10x the Pain". Finally, if all that anger wasn't quite enough, Dreadnaught finishes with "Buried" that's nothing less than full-blast hardcore.

Just as good as anything they've done before, Dreadnaught's fourth album is a furious ball of rage that cements them as both the angriest and one of the best of Australia's heavy metal legions.

1. Tattooed Tears
2. The Push
3. Save Your Life
4. Collapse
5. Reflections Pt. 1
6. More Than One Way
7. Agony/Ecstacy
8. Reflections Pt. 2
9. 10x the Pain
10. Twist the Knife
11. Reflections Pt. 3
12. Buried

Rating: 93%