Review Summary: The best album by dope this far. Album should absolutely satisfie a Dope fan and should be an ok listen to someone who yet isn't. Good minor changes to the sound make this Dope's most mature and serous record.
Group Therapy is the third studio album of nu-metal/industrial metal band dope and in my opinion is the best the band has made so far. Dope`s first album "Felons And Revolutionaries"which was a mix of nu-metal,industrial metal and punk was an ok listen but did not blow you away. So when they made Group Therapy I didn`t have very big expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised with it.
One of the things that I liked was that dope had changed their sound a little bit: they had a much more nu/heavy metal sound on this album than before and did not have so much keyboards included. Also a lot of their songs had a very dark atmosphere that I personally liked. Dope`s songs had become more meaningful and really carried a good message with them(for example these songs: Sing, Another Day Goes By, I Am) so they were better to listen to than a song that says F*** Y** and Die 50 times during it(although I have to make an exception on dope on this one cuz they really can make even that kind of a song work really well). The bass, most of the time, sounds really deep and great. Virus (lead guitarist) does a good job on this album. He doesn`t make any solos but the album hasn`t suffered from it and his playing is still really good . Racci Shay does a very good job on drums. His drumming fitted perfectly in every song (my personal opinion) and gave a good background to them. Edsel`s vocals aren`t mindblowing but still very good and he has that nice unique voice. You can see that his vocals are becoming better and better in time and he seems to work really hard on them (a good thing).
Now to the overally good and bad.
+
good overall sound, Nothing special but very listenable, good drumming,bass,vocals and guitar altogether. Only about 1-3 songs left me cold
More mature approach, songs have a good point in them and often talk about real life situations. Even the one`s that don`t carry a bigger meaning are executed nicely and are a good listen
Nice development from the last 2 albums( "Felon And Revolutionaries" and "Life") in general.
Songs are catchy and don`t grow old very fast so you can listen to them over and over again while not getting bored and enjoying the music. Some of the songs even make you wanna sing along.
Better recording quality than in previous albums
-
Some songs may blend into eachother a little bit( thankfully most dont)
People who haven`t heard of dope before may not be so positive about this album(although it is a good album)
doesen`t quite blow you away
Overally it is a good metal album from a good metal band and worth looking into. The band has matured a lot but still have room to grow and I hope that one day they land a real masterpiece. But till then a Dope fan can be totally satisfied with "Group Therapy".
Songs I recommend:
Sing
I Am
Falling Away
Today is The Day
Bring It On
This is my first review and all comments and criticism is welcome .
