Released By: AFM Records
Release Date: January 26th, 2024
Genre: Alternative/Groove Metal
Links: https://www.dymytry.cz/
Line Up:
Alen “A.L.“ Ljubic – Vocals
Jiri “DYMO“ Urban – Guitars
Jan “Gorgy” Gorgel – Guitars
Artur “R2R” Mikhaylov – Bass
Milos “Mildor” Meier – Drums
Tracklist:
1. Enemy List
2. Everything is Black
3. Wake Me Up (Before We Die)
4. Legends Never Die (League of Legends Cover)
5. Three Steps to Hell
6. In Death We Trust
7. Dead Living Dead
8. 1939
9. The Revenant
10. Five Angry Men
While there’s always exciting new music to be found within my main genres of power, prog, and symphonic metal, sometimes it can be fun to step out of my comfort zone a bit and try something I’m not as used to, and perhaps be surprised by how much I enjoy it. The latest example of this is Czech alternative/groove metal band Dymytry, a band I was completely unfamiliar with, from a genre mix I’m generally not all that into, but I gave their seventh full-length release (second to be released in English), “Five Angry Men,” a few listens and came out quite impressed and entertained. It’s certainly not one of the most complex or innovative albums I’ve heard in recent years, but it’s a very fun album that takes a style I’m not often too fond of and makes it highly enjoyable for me to listen to.
Dymytry has been around for close to two decades, starting off singing entirely in their native language for their first few albums before releasing “Revolt,” an English version of their fifth album “Revolter,” in 2021, featuring vocalist Alen Ljubic, who remains with the band for “Five Angry Men.” The band’s sound falls somewhere in line with the likes of Slipknot and Five Finger Death Punch, though perhaps not quite as rough as either of those bands can get. Instead, they often go for big hooks and huge, melodic choruses. As a melodic metal fan, Ljubic’s vocals are a huge part of why I enjoy this album so much. He has a deep, smooth, and very powerful voice, and while he does get intense and throws in some screams at points (along with a bit of rap on a couple tracks), his overall delivery is super clean, smooth, and certainly helps make the music more accessible than many other bands playing this kind of music. Obviously, there are plenty of hard-hitting riffs, some very groovy parts, some sections with djent-infused guitar work, as well as parts that border on metalcore, but there’s also some very melodic guitar work, including some surprisingly great solos, and some nice atmospheric keyboards to help add some extra flavor to the music. There’s a lot of things here that appeal to my musical tastes, even if the overall sound is quite different from what I normally listen to, and the band pulls everything off very well.
Songwriting is quite varied, with a nice balance between some very heavy, faster-paced material, some slower, more groove-infused tracks, some lighter tracks, and a couple of ballads. The softer, more melodic tracks tend to be my favorites, though everything sounds great, and some of the heavier tracks surprised me with how much I was enjoying them after several listens. Ljubic is the biggest star of the band, but the two guitarists also do a great job, with a nice balance between some very heavy, chunky riffs and some nice, melodic playing, and the rhythm section is also great. Production is also high quality, with no issues whatsoever.
One concern I usually have with this kind of album is the lyrics, which can often be a bit much to take, but while this album does have a bit of that typical “tough guy” attitude at points, it doesn’t feel nearly as forced as the likes of Five Finger Death Punch, and there’s a good balance between tracks with more serious lyrics such as “In Death We Trust”, the anti-war anthem “1939” and “The Revenant”, as well as tracks with more fun, sometimes humorous lyrics such as “Enemy List”, a track about cyber-bullying, “Wake Me Up (Before We Die)”, a playful apocalyptic anthem, and the title track. At worst, the lyrics are harmless and not too irritating, but at their best, they can be pretty good, which is a pleasant surprise.
Photo Credit: Alen A.L. Ljubic
The album gets off to a solid start with “Enemy List,” a fairly mid-paced track, which kicks off with some nice melodic guitar work before slowing down a bit and bringing in some keys during an opening verse which has a nice rhythm to it. The chorus is big, melodic, catchy, and full of excellent vocals from Ljubic, who sounds equal parts intense, powerful, and super smooth right from the start and is in full command of the track from start to finish. It’s a very energetic and catchy song, with an excellent, very melodic guitar solo towards the end. Things only get better with “Everything is Black,” one of the fastest, heaviest tracks on the album. It kicks off with some bouncy keyboards, accompanied by a heavy riff, and then once the explosive main riff and pounding drums kick in, it goes into full gear, slowing down a bit at the start of the opening verse, then alternating between fast and slow passages seamlessly and fluidly. The chorus slows things down and is very melodic, with some excellent guitar work and some of Ljubic’s best vocals on the album. The track continues to alternate between heavy, fast passages and slow, melodic passages, with the solo section being particularly aggressive, and overall, I find it to be the most thoroughly engaging and memorable track here, at least when it comes to original material.
Next is “Wake Me Up (Before We Die),” another more mid-paced track, with some strong melodic guitar work, as well as a much stronger keyboard presence, especially during the verses and chorus. The track starts off nice and melodic before switching to a heavy, slightly djent-infused section before the chorus, with hints of rap in the vocals. The chorus itself is upbeat, fun, and very catchy, with an irresistible main riff and nice keys, as well as more great vocals. The rap parts initially threw me off a bit, but they aren’t too bad, while the rest of the track is excellent, especially the chorus. The first ballad on the album is “Legends Never Die,” a cover of a song from the video game League of Legends. This track is an example of how great the band can be, taking what was already an epic, heroic ballad, adding a bit of a chill atmosphere with the guitars and keys, and then further enhancing the chorus with some incredibly powerful, emotionally resonant vocals from Ljubic, who’s at his absolute best on this track. For the most part, the band plays things straight, keeping it as a light ballad with a slight metallic edge, though towards the end, they include a core-style breakdown, which is very well executed and adds an extra dose of energy and intensity to the track. Overall, it’s a fantastic cover, and my personal favorite track on the album.
Following that strong opening sequence, the band keeps the momentum going with “Three Steps to Hell”, another mid paced track, with a nice balance between heavy verses and a melodic, sing-along style chorus. The track has a strong atmosphere to it, with the guitars having a slightly sinister feel to them. The verses are full of screams, which sound great, while the chorus is sung as cleanly and smoothly as usual, and the contrast between the two works quite well. One track that initially surprised me is “In Death We Trust”, which starts off with light backing keys and soft guitar work, building up tension with a ton of atmosphere for what feels like a ballad, complete with some of Ljubic’s softest vocals on the entire album, until suddenly about 70 seconds in the guitars take a much more sinister tone and the heaviness gets kicked up several notches for an intense opening verse, with more intense screams, which does eventually give way to a soft, atmospheric chorus with excellent clean vocals. Once again, the mix between speedy, aggressive sections, and that slow, atmospheric and melodic chorus, is quite effective, with the vocals being the highlight as always.
Another faster track is next with “Dead Living Dead”, a slightly thrashy track, with a very hard hitting main riff, leading to an up tempo, hard hitting opening verse with more excellent screamed vocals, which gives way to a smooth, catchy chorus which does not let up at all when it comes to the upbeat tempo the track has going. It’s one of the most energetic tracks on the album, and the heavy parts are very well done, but once again, the chorus is the highlight, thanks to Ljubic’s amazing vocals. Next is the anti-war anthem “1939”, which speaks of the current state of the world, looking back at what happened to start World War II, and the band’s fear of more war to come in the near future. The lyrics are quite haunting, and the music has a strong atmospheric, melancholic tone, once again mixing heavy and melodic parts quite effectively, with the chorus once again being the highlight, though the calm, chilling verses are also very effective.
The sombre atmosphere continues with “The Revenant”, a very soft, chilling ballad with a dark feel to it, Musically it’s quite straight-forward, with some dark, yet very melodic guitar work and light backing keys, largely carried by the ever smooth and powerful vocals of Ljubic. The verses are calm, yet chilling, while the chorus is dark and sorrowful, but also very melodic, and the vocals are once again amazing. Closing out the album is the title track, which is sadly my least favorite on the album. It’s not a bad track, by any means, and I actually quite like the odd, groovy rhythms and djent infused guitar work throughout, as well as the bouncy keyboards, but the chorus isn’t too enjoyable, with fairly weak vocal melodies and a lot of repetition, while the verses turn into full on rap, which is something I almost never enjoy, and while this isn’t a particularly bad implementation of it, I certainly don’t enjoy listening to it very much. The instrumental work is solid, but otherwise it’s not a fun track for me to listen to, and it does unfortunately end the album on a bit of a sour note.
Aside from that rather weak ending, Five Angry Men is a highly entertaining album overall, with a good mix of alt and groove metal, nicely combining some very heavy, up-beat material, with some slower, more melodic material. It’s all brought together by the fantastic, super smooth yet powerful voice of Alen Ljubic, who does an amazing job throughout, and proves to be the clear highlight of the album. Fans of this style of music should find a lot to like here, while even people like me who don’t enjoy the likes of Slipknot or Five Finger Death Punch outside of a few tracks here and there, may find themselves pleasantly surprised by this album, like I was. Thankfully, I can say this album doesn’t appear to be a fluke, and that Dymytry are at the very least on a two album winning streak, because I checked out Revolt towards the end of reviewing this album, and liked it about as much as this one.
Ratings: 8/10
Written by: Travis Green
My Global Mind – Staff Writer
Travis Green is a Canadian based writer for My Global Mind, with a particular passion for power metal, as well as an interest metal in all its forms.
About Author
