Doomriders: Black Thunder Album Review
Their Deathwish, Inc. Debut is a Seriously Fun Hardcore Romp
When Nate Newton is not in Converge, what does he do? He is a self-professed skateboard fanatic, and he has that other artsy doom metal band Old Man Gloom. As it turns out, he also started a band called Doomrider. They’re all about hardcore punk, old-school metal, and good ol’ fashioned rock and roll. Oh, and skateboarding.
Black Thunder’s Songs
It’s easy to get a sense of what to expect just from looking at the cover art. The electrified grim reaper riding a dark horse has a definite Iron Maiden feel to it. Sure, it’s cheesy, but in a good way. It also is an accurate representation of the music: fun, over-the-top, and electrified. “Black Thunder” kicks off the album and introduces its classic rock-meets-hardcore vibe with some awesome dual guitar lead.
Given the genres of music that this record is inspired by, there is a surprising amount of variety. “Ride or Die” rolls with a rumbling bass melody and some dueling guitar leads for a while until the rest of the song kicks in. Other slow burners include the instrumental “Voice of Fire,” “Sirens,” and the Danzig-esque “Midnight Eye.” It shows that Newton can do more than just scream, and sound pretty suave too.
Newton’s rich hardcore heritage comes out in numbers like “Listen Up!!,” “The Chase,” and “Deathbox.” The latter is his love letter to skateboard punk culture and coincidentally is one of the record’s best. The late album one –two punch of “Drag Them Down” and “The Whipcrack” has most likely provided the soundtrack to many a circle pit beatdown during their tours.
Standout song “Worthless” deftly combines everything that is great about Doomriders. They lay down some heavy rock (think Motorhead) overtop of a fast paced hardcore beat (as if there were any other kind). The chorus also has some catchy lead guitar work and gang vocals (“they called us… ‘WORTHLESS!’). With this song, Newton provides a commentary and rebuttal against the labeling of the skateboarding punk youth as, well, worthless.
Nate Newton and Converge
Black Thunder was an all-in-the-family affair. Newton’s bandmates in Converge seemed to be very supportive of their bassist’s side project, as both Converge singer Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou stepped in to help the album’s progression. Bannon handled the industry side of things as Black Thunder debuted on Bannon’s hardcore dynasty label Deathwish, Inc while Ballou engineered the album at his own God City Studio.
For fans of Converge, it is interesting to compare Newton’s work in Doomriders with his other projects. Converge, undisputed kings of modern hardcore, are known for their gritty, visceral, and aggressive hardcore. Old Man Gloom on the other hand is more of an experiment in ambient music and doom metal. Both provide outlets for Newton, but both are very dark and artsy.
Doomriders, on the other hand, are still very much “hardcore,” but they just seem more fun, in the same way that The Misfits are fun. They invoke a good mood in the listener and perfectly capture the energy and youth of hardcore and punk music, while being unafraid to be silly (i.e. the lightning steed on the cover). They seem to give Newton a respite from all the gloom and doom of his other work.
New Doomriders Album
Newton and co. are poised to release a new album later this year. If Black Thunder and their split with Disfear are any indications, their new material is going to be awesome. Black Thunder is sure to become a classic and if they keep it up, the name Doomriders will become synonymous with “party."
Black Thunder Cover Art
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