Being a Roland Johansson fan, I’ve known DODGE for some 3 years. But they’ve been around a lot longer (2004) and I’m now proud to present you their debut album.
DODGE’s kind of nu-metal is that more alternative one, their heavy riffs and rhythm being their strongest feature. Along the way, they tap the groove borderline here and there, which results in both aggressive and catchy melodies.
Roland sings mostly clean – as much as that characteristic “edge” of his voice allows him to sing clean. What I mean is that there’s no real growling here. Some angry screams, like in “My Puppeteer” or “Something Better”, a few roaring grumbles, as in “Time”, but it’s mostly Roland’s natural raw tone that brings the lyrics to life and makes the songs unique.
“My Puppeteer” (originally released in the demo “Dodgewood”, in late 2005) is probably the heaviest track in “To The End”, as in addition to the angry screams I’ve mentioned before, all instruments sound more frantic than in the rest of the album. But “The Fight” – from the very first demo “Playing The Game” and now turned into first official single –, “Hollywood” and “New Day” (this one with such a distinct bass line) are very close to the same level of frenzy.
Then, on the opposite end of the tempo scale, there’s “Push It” and “Time”, offering us another kind of heaviness – the weight of “deep emotions”, a little bit trancelike. Not like the slower pace of “Like A Star”, which is simply more melodic.
Some of the members had already played together in another band, INHALE, which was a mix of nu-metal with hardcore. The talent was there, but we all know how that alone is not enough. So they split up, regrouped as DODGE, but Lady Luck was still nowhere to be found. Crossing my fingers for this third strike to finally pull through.
Label: Despotz Records
Tracklist:
- New Day
- Time
- Hollywood
- Push It
- Something Better
- Like A Star
- The Fight
- Where Memories Remain
- My Puppeteer
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