Released by: Skull Seven Productions
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Hard Rock/Metal
Links: http://www.dc4rocks.com/
Line Up:
Jeff Duncan – Vox and Guitars
Rowan Robertson – Guitars
Matt Duncan – Bass
Shawn Duncan – Drums
Tracklist:
01. Wrecktory
02. Electric Ministry
03. XXX
04. Rock God
05. 25 to Life
06. Broken Soul
07. People
08. The Ballad of Rock and Roll
09. Glitter Girl
10. Sociopath
11. Dirty Hands
Hard Rock for the 21st century….? I was thinking when I heard this chunky heavy trash effort from DC4 titled “Electric Ministry”, what exactly am I listening to it here? Maybe what Hard Rock and Heavy Metal would sound like now a days without any imitations? Alright screw that the influences are always eminent on any kind of old rockers Hard Rock/Metal outfit, but certain qualities of the album did take flight very well. The fact that Bill Metoyer was involved in producing this interesting metal record, a guy who has worked with such acts as Armored Saint, Fates Warning and Wasp peaked my interest.
Another interesting factoid here is the guitarist showcasing on this release is Rowan Robertson, who did a brief stint with Dio after the release of Dream Evil and eventually replaced the departing Craig Goldy. The reason I bring this up is because of the sound, is very Dio-esque, like a mix of old school Black Sabbath, some mid era Dio with a modern Heaven and Hell deep woven thick guitar grind. Is a nice groovy mix that works very well.
The vocal duties are handled by Jeff Duncan who to this day is still a very active member of Armored Saint; while not providing mind altering super pipes, it does the job in guiding each song throughout this Heavy Hard Rock journey of trendy guitar licks.
The title track crunches toward a nice hook which opens up the record on a hopeful note. The more melodic hard rock energy of the 8 minute melancholy “Broken Soul” plays in my favorite list upon a few listens, the guitars take control here very carefully implanted. The rock anthem “Rock God” shows promise of plenty of attitude which translates to the mood of the record with a fever pitch.
As is customary with any of my reviews I like to point out the good stuff first and some of the not so good. In certain tracks like the more heavy duty aggressive thrash rhythm songs, the vocal of Jeff Duncan don’t always blend in so well therefore relying on the chorus to help out. Is not a knock on his vocal ability which is clear he fits the style of the band very well, but on some tunes it probably needed it more attention to detail. But it’s just my own personal opinion. For the most part this album breaks some serious necks, and the crunching guitars are excellent. A very solid overall effort on all levels including meticulous attention to the writing and overall atmosphere.
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 7/10
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