Recommended Aussie Tunes:Psycroptic | The new single "A Fragile Existence" | Listen

Album Reviews : Dr. Living Dead – Radioactive Intervention

By on November 14, 2012

Sweden’s Dr. Living Dead is a band that most Australian thrash metal fans probably aren’t familiar with. Four guys all hiding behind the same masks that look like a mix between Megadeth’s famous “Vic Rattlehead” and Stormtroopers of Death’s “Sargent D.”. Musically, if Dr. Living Dead were a part of a metal family, they’d be the child of Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies, and the brothers of Lich King and Gama Bomb. I say this because the first two bands I mentioned seem to be their direct influence from old school metal, and the other two are the bands they perfectly fit in with from the modern thrash metal scene.

Their debut, self-titled album was a blast from start to finish. Half of the tracks on that album were re-recordings of their demo tracks, which sounded much better musically, especially the vocals. It wasn’t too long before the masked thrashers hit the studio again to record their second full-length album “Radioactive Intervention”.

Like the last album, Radioactive Intervention is full of energy the whole way through. They haven’t taken any change towards their musical direction, performing their onslaught of crossover thrash metal. That sound is obvious from the opening notes of title track Radioactive Intervention, showing off their aggressive Slayer influenced attack. Vocalist Dr Ape has the same two vocal styles that he always uses, his main vocals sounding like Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) and his other vocals sounding like Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies).

Signs from the Other Side and Mental Warzone are my favourite tracks off the album. Both of them, to me, have a slight traditional heavy metal feel to them, with the well-sung Suicidal-esque vocals over the top. One of the bands demo songs “I Need Thrash (Not You)” appeared on this album under the name Suffering. Their demo recordings weren’t too great. I didn’t think they were bad musically, but the production put it off so much, so it’s good to see that they’re still re-recording those songs and taking them to the next level.

Their debut self-titled album was fantastic, and I can happily say the same about Radioactive Intervention. While sounding similar to their debut album and having the same amount of energy, this catchy follow up album has been successful. Radioactive Intervention will certainly be in my top 10 albums this year.

Rating: 9/10

Band: Dr. Living Dead
Album: Radioactive Intervention
Year: 2012
Genre: Thrash/Crossover
Label: High Roller
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden

http://www.facebook.com/drlivingdeadofficial

Tracklist:
1. Radioactive Intervention
2. You’re Lost
3. Signs from the Other Side
4. The Meaning of Life
5. They Live
6. Bringer of Truth
7. Suffering
8. Mental Warzone
9. Life Sucks
10. Hiding Inside of Me
11. Timeless
12. Dead New World

About

Patrick has been a dedicated contributor to Metal Obsession since 2011. He believes that you can put Lars Ulrich's face on just about anything. Add Patrick on Facebook.