Review Summary: Zombie Dog was defiantly worth the wait. Since starting the band up when they were 13, the members have really grown and proved to be a fresh sound in the otherwise generic and stale music industry today.
Scapegoat:
1: a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur
2 a: one that bears the blame for others
b: one that is the object of irrational hostility
There is also a band named Scapegoat, out of Charlotte, North Carolina, that blends melody, brutality, and beauty to bring a fresh sound to the Hard Rock/Metal/Post-Hardcore scene. With the fresh sound, you really cannot pigeonhole Scapegoat into a category. With that being said, Scapegoat is signed to Tragic Hero Records, who has started disturbing their merch through East/West Records, and released their record label debut album, and fourth overall,
Let Our Violins Be Heard in 2005. They started touring in support of it and during 2006/2007 they started writing and recording their new album
Zombie Dog. It was originally going to be released September 11th but pushed back for unknown reasons, the album was ready to go but got pushed back anyway. It was finally released on January 22nd. Was the wait worth it? Could Scapegoat bring as much if not more energy then before? Does the band still have a sound all to their own after this many years, working on their 9th year, or are they finally falling into the generic music industry?
The band has stated that they are using the zombie metaphor in a political sense. They take you through a journey from the negative aspect of today’s society to the, hopefully, bright carefree future. In the opener,
Zombies, Scapegoat uses the metaphor of the zombies being mindless consumers, and people who are ignorant, angry, and aggressive for no reason. Just by reading the lyrics, you can imagine the passion and anger coming off the words. A good example of this is found on
The Hurricane, “I want some f*cking proof//I want the G** D*** truth//was there ever a man on the moon?!” Scapegoat has also wrote their own Bonnie and Clyde song, named
Bonnie and Clyde.
Scapegoat also supports the environment, as seen on their Myspace by supporting and linking to Aero 2012, and wrote the song
Mother Nature’s Revenge with the lyrics, “soil your carpet, and the carpet you'll clean//as she reaps her sweet revenge upon our scene//mother nature is handin em out she's ringin hell's bells, BELLS?! ah hell//she's waited on us for so long and now she's happening….open your eyes reset the standard//hold high yourself above the filth//breathe in new life sheep seek your shepherd//govern this grace we've all been dealt//CUZ KARMAS COMIN AROUND!” The lyrics do get repetitive near the end of some of the songs and would be better off shortening the songs, which would in turn tone down the 52-minute playtime.
The dynamic vocalist Kit Walters shows what he is made off by even doing some Melodic Death Metal infused hardcore type vocals on the opening track yet still has the range for some actual singing. In every song, he chooses just the right vocal type for the part. As in
The Room In Which I Sit he uses a harsh growl type of vocal that really shows he could front any type of band. As far as young dynamic vocalists go, Kit is one of the most promising and has great potential to be one of the best frontmen. Kit also uses a dreamy type of vocal delivery that he can pull off without a hassle. There are two great songs as far as vocal standouts go and they are “
Something In The Way” and “
Buy Me An Orangutan”. In “Something in The Way” he using a soothing Pop-rockish type vocal approach and he pulls it off very well and makes you want to sway back and forth. On “Buy Me An Orangutan,” he uses a more metal infused hardcore type vocal to release his anger in these lyrics:
Quote:
oh God, I'm f*ckin so pissed off
I've worked this dream for a decade and I'm still not paid
yea f*ck you, who say I do it for the money
I can't even afford bread, butter, and honey
I'm f*ckin hungry for riches
hungry for fans
hungry for love
and a better f*cking band
so hate me now that I've spilled you my heart.
since I've ripped up my dream and I've torn it apart.
now I can be what you already hate
now I can be what you already hate
I've blown out my brains and I've dug my own grave
this song is the truth of to which I'm a slave
drop us now, better now than be later
same sad song, same stupid player hater
all you bitches I just called out the sh*tter
band of the month meets the new pinch hitter
this song is a joke and the ball's out the park
cats out the bag, dog's barked its bark
desktop is dying, can't even record
i need a new drive of which i cannot afford
i could carry on, but you'd get so bored
f*ck you again, I'm so f*ckin floored
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Kit and Scapegoat really knows how to write lyrics and fit the well together with the music.
Right off the bat you can hear a different then normal guitar tone that really sets up the listener for some great guitar riffs through out the album. When given the chance the guitarists can fill any vocal free space and is able to change the riff up so it will not get annoying. The opening riff in
Criminal is really good and sets up the song perfectly. A great Mainstream Rock/Hard Rock guitar intro and kick-start riff can be heard on
The Creative. The guitarists have wrote some good parts to meld well together with Kit’s vocals and lyrics and through the whole album the vocals and riffs meld and work well together.
The drummer, Daniel Hitselberger, really doesn’t start showing his skills off until
Something In The Way hits. Daniel does not take control of the songs, but he really does not have to with Kit and the guitarists being the main part of Scapegoat. Daniel does get equal credit on the track
Dead In The Nethers where his drumming helps the song out a lot. Daniel uses double bass in the song
The Room In Which I Sit and you never hear it that much on any other song on the album. Daniel really has a feel of his drum set and knows which piece of the overall puzzle is needed for the album to meld together without him needing to take control.
Zombie Dog was definitely worth the wait. Since starting the band up when they were 13, the members have really grown and proved to be a fresh sound in the otherwise generic and stale music industry today. The playtime is a little bloated and could’ve used a little trimming on some songs, but other then that this is a great album and shows that the band is ready to make it big if given the chance to get signed to a major record label.
4.5/5
