| D-Day 4-Ever – The Hand That's Dealt |
| CD Review by Scott "Dr. Music" Itter |
|
June
2008
|
It's not too often I get it. No, I'm not talking about sex with my wife. I'm talking about a whole other kind of tingling sensation. The one I get when I've just heard a band poised to take over the world. South Africa's D-Day 4-Ever is one of the most powerful bands I've heard in years. Their power not only comes from the heavy crunch and groove of their instruments, but even more so from their use of rhythm and melody within all of the chaos. Every song on "The Hand That's Dealt," their first full-length disc, has a huge hook that's baited with a vicious groove led by bassist Roy Melville and drummer Travis Mein. The bottom heavy thump and the punctual plucking of Melville's bass is always active and extremely effective, while Mein provides rock solid thunder to keep the pace. Meanwhile, guitarist Derius Erasmus and singer Jaco Jacobs continually take the reins of this thoroughbred and ride it straight into the winner's circle. With Jacobs' vocal style similar to that of Seether frontman Shaun Morgan, along with the fact they both hail from South Africa, you can rest assured that the comparisons between the two bands will run rampant. And, even though I understand how that might happen, it would be unfair to overlook the similarities to other bands that are not from that region of the globe – bands like Sevendust or Disturbed, for instance. The disc jump starts with a song called "Virus Inside" that has a galloping rhythm interspersed with staccato, machine gun drum parts and a sing-along chorus. The song that follows this is the real killer though. "Numb" is a song that hammers one of the catchiest hooks I've ever heard right through your skull. Melville's ever present bass flexes its muscle here with a funky stroll, while Jacobs powers down the refrain with brute strength. This same formula continues into the title cut, a song that finds Mein choking and tapping cymbals with nice precision and artistic patience. It's at this point that the album now takes a giant turn and heads straight towards a party. Raise your plastic beer cups, light your lighters and start f **king bouncing! With Jacobs' growl of "Hello Afrika, how are you doing," you can envision a huge crowd covered in smoke going out of their minds. "Hello Afrika," the band's ode to their motherland, is a rap metal-type song similar in style to Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" except this singer isn't a whiny little punk with a potty mouth. Instead, you get a vocal Goliath that's enveloped in crunchy thrashing and a brilliantly funky bass line. This is an extremely simple tune, but it's also great fun. The record goes on to deliver 8 more solid tracks, 12 in all, and the interesting thing is that there isn't a song that runs more than 3:56. There are two ballads on the disc that are finely constructed and emotionally powerful as well, which shows the band's ability to "step outside of the box." And speaking of going outside of the box, "Wishes" is a song that has a gentle sway that incorporates a light and easy female vocal harmony supplied by Scarlet Box singer Jenna Phillips. The baritone of Jacobs' vocal blends beautifully with Phillips' high alto for a welcome change of pace. "The Chill Song" is a ballad of a different color; a well crafted power ballad with a "Thank you for saving me" message that appropriately ends the record.
"Even
though your will's been broken, D-Day 4-Ever is the Muhammad Ali of heavy rock here, dishing out short, powerful, jaw-dropping jabs for just over 38 minutes. They keep it simple and put much of their emphasis on the tremendous hooks that are contained within the refrains. The result is a record full of addictive songs that will keep you up at night as they play over and over in your head; and any real rocker will tell you – that's a good thing. I want to play this thing for all of you. I want to tell you that "Numb" and "Lost" are two songs that I want to play over and over and over and over. I want to tell you that there hasn't been a new band that's excited me quite like this in a very long time. I want to tell you that there's about to be an international sensation coming out of South Africa, and their name is D-Day 4-Ever. Official
Website: www.d-day.co.za |
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