Released By : Recent Records
Genre : Metalbilly, Punk Rock
Links : http://www.moropolis.com/
Tracklist:
01. In Dynamite We Trust
02. Robert The Hero
03. McBoogie
04. Whorehouse Event
05. Chuck Saves
06. Handsome Gun
07. Queen Mary
08. Roy’s Party
09. HDH-DK-25
10. Soldier
11. James
12. GOM
If April was the month of well-known bands releasing new gems upon the rock & metal world, then so far May has been, for me at least, a month of discovery. Plenty of new bands I’d never heard of and some really different and interesting music in all aspects. One of this month’s surprise packets has been the debut album from German band GUNS OF MOROPOLIS. They have described their sound as “METALBILLY” and after much deliberation I’m inclined to agree that this is the best way to explain what they are going for. Think of a slightly heavier version of rockabilly, but mixed with some stoner rock and a slight pinch of punk rock all covered in a layer of sludgy metal. Work with me here when I say that they are sort of a concoction of the retrospective rockabilly sound, VOLBEAT, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, NASHVILLE PUSSY and THE RAMONES.
The odd thing though, is that even with all of these varied influences the music on this CD is pretty simplistic in its approach. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily mean that as a bad thing because IN DYNAMITE WE TRUST has a very catchy and groovy sound that is different enough from a lot of other bands to remain interesting even though there isn’t a whole lot going on. The guitar work is very strong here and the way the band have managed to combine the punky swing of rockabilly with the slow droning riffery of stoner rock is to be applauded. But the real highlight here is vocalist August Paulsen, who actually doesn’t sound too far removed from VOLBEAT singer Michael Poulson. Not that he ever sounds like an imitator; it’s just obvious that this certain vocal approach is what works best with this type of music.
Something else I liked about the album was that it never took itself too seriously. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it has comedic elements, but there is a certain sense of fun and tongue-in-cheek here that adds to the appeal. For an example of this look into the lyrics of my highlight track MC BOOGIE, which as you might guess is a song about getting down and boogieing at McDonalds, but also mentions things like Neverland Ranch, The Terminator and Darth Vader.
With the rock & metal landscape plagued with bands that sound the same in every aspect, more than ever we need groups like GUNS OF MOROPOLIS to break the monotony. IN DYNAMITE W TRUST may not be a fantastic or game-changing album, but it’s definitely a fun forty minutes or so and deserves to be heard. On a more simplistic note though…If you are a VOLBEAT fan, prepare to meet one of your new favourite bands.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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