ALBUM REVIEW: The Dead Don’t Die – Dominum
Under normal circumstances, an album coming out on December 27th would not be a good sign. The immediate post-Christmas period is typically where record labels shove the music they have no faith in, hoping that it’ll go unnoticed while the majority of journalists are falling into a food coma in front of the latest WALLACE AND GROMIT movie. The jokes on them though, because despite a valiant effort by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come, James is still a miserly old skinflint who forced us to work over the festive season. And by God, the reviews will keep coming or the book-keeping staff will soon be UNEMPLOYED!
If anyone at Napalm Records was feeling uncertain about the new DOMINUM album though, those misgivings were misplaced. The Dead Don’t Die is a consistently entertaining collection of songs, full of rousing choruses, crunchy riffs and memorable melodies. The German quartet turned a few heads with 2023’s Hey Living People, and this follow-up justifies the hype. They’re only one tour with SABATON and a couple of festival appearances away from being serious contenders and this is a late highlight for the 2024 power metal calendar.
The opening We Are Forlorn is one of those tracks that tells you almost everything you need to know. Embracing the horror aesthetic from the get-go, it’s the sonic equivalent of a bloodied, rotting hand erupting from a freshly covered grave and kicks things off in riotous fashion. There’s charismatic vocal performance from frontman Dr. Dead and it only takes one listen to sink its hooks into your braaiiiinnns.
One Of Us maintains the momentum with three minutes of dark cheese, before the title track comes across like a malevolent nursery rhyme combined with a high-octane metal song. They ease off the pedal slightly with the mid-tempo Die For The Devil, while Don’t Get Bitten By The Wrong One shows off some serious song-writing chops. It’s all loud, raucous and surprisingly energetic considering it’s written by zombies.
It’s very enjoyable and makes for an easy listen, the whole thing flashing by in what feels like no time at all. Every track sounds like a single in waiting, and while it could have done with being a bit longer, it ends strongly with the retro-power of Guardians Of The Night. This closing number isn’t too far removed from something that would show up on a Stranger Things themed club playlist, if only it had been written forty years earlier.
In other words, we can only assume that there must a logistical reason for The Dead Don’t Die being released in the no man’s land of late December. These undead anthems are the most fun we’ve had since the last POWERWOLF record and were serious comfort for all of us at DS who couldn’t afford cheeses for our meeces. Keep an eye on DOMINUM in the coming year, they could be massive by the time next December shuffles round.
Rating: 8/10
The Dead Don’t Die is out now via Napalm Records.
Like DOMINUM on Facebook.