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Dog Eat Dog

Free Radicals

Written by: PP on 06/11/2023 21:37:58

Due to the cyclical nature of the music industry, nu-metal is making something of a comeback as of late. After having lit up numerous festivals over the past many years with their festive, upbeat party collective, genre pioneers Dog Eat Dog returns with a brand new effort after a seventeen-year break since the last one. "Free Radicals" is only their fifth album since their formation in 1990, yet it feels like you're thrown right back to the late 90s with no years having passed in between. Now that's either a very good thing or a very bad one, depending on where you stand.

Let's start with the former. Older fans of Dog Eat Dog will be delighted that the band hasn't changed much over the years. They're still largely blending funk, ska/reggae, metal, and rap in a way that recalls 311 on "From Chaos" or the old records by P.O.D or Papa Roach. It's a more lightweight approach to rap metal than, say, Body Count's aggressive gangsta rap meets heavy metal combination, but still crunchy enough to draw in a mixture of the metal and alternative rock crowds. A song like "Kin" is essentially exactly like what Dog Eat Dog has been sounding like over the years, but it does sound rather dated in 2023.

Where the band has always excelled is when they bring out the smooth saxophone. Here, the funk and jazzy vibes create a peculiar contrast that has always felt equally out of place and just right. Here, the instrument is in a minor role, used for example in "Never Give In", which draws from a funky and summery brand of alternative rock. In other words, it's classic Dig Eat Dog and even features DJ scratching like it's 2000 all over again. The same goes for "1 Thing". It's just a shame it's not in a more dominant role on the record.

For the heavier music fans, "Time Won't Wait" launches into crossover thrash, much like "Energy Rock" and "Blvk Clvd" later on. You could plausibly draw a Suicidal Tendencies parallel on the latter two. Unfortunately, these songs are merely fast and aggressive, but not exactly memorable.

And that, my friends, is the problem with the majority of "Free Radicals". The hip-hop-laden "@Joe's" is a great example. It's a cliché rap metal song that sounds more like a joke than a real song. The "I love my dogs" chants on "Mans Best Friend" - clearly designed with the live circuit in mind - aren't much better. At least we've got the saxophone here.

There are a couple of tracks here that will probably make their setlist going forward. But overall, "Free Radicals" has too much filler and feels more like a career extension rather than a revitalizing piece that the band just needed to get out of their musical hearts. Still, the band's live performances remain a spectacle worth seeing, even if their musical contribution isn't exactly for the critical acclaim this time around.

Download: Never Give In, Lit Up, 1 Thing, Mans Best Friend,
For the fans of: 311, P.O.D., Stuck Mojo, Just Friends, Papa Roach, Body Count, Suicidal Tendencies
Listen: Facebook

Release date 20.10.2023
Metalville Records