Domination Campaign – Onward To Glory
Release Date: 9th July 2021
Label: Prosthetic Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Torture Killer, Six Feet Under, Mortician.
Review By: Ian Sky
Opening statements: When I hear, ‘Tasmania’, the first thing that comes to mind are the amazing films, Reckless Kelly and Young Einstein by Yahoo Serious. The next thing is how the state’s name sounds suspiciously like a form of high-functioning psychosis which, in tandem with any type of Metal should display dynamite results! In any event, I wish their football teams all the best!
Now… on to the new business!
The album begins with all the standard Death Metal highlights along with a hint of what sounds like a Destroyer 666 influence and vividly reminds me of ‘For Maggots To Devour‘ by Torture Killer. The band consists of vocalist Jason Peppiatt, who also handles the guitar and bass duties and Joe Haley on drums. (Haley also did the recording and engineering for the album, about which I can offer no complaint.) Joe Haley is also one of the founding members of Psycroptic, which Jason Peppiatt joined in 2005.
While Onward To Glory is well performed, it falls short of the expected mark. And my enthusiasm, unfortunately did not last as long as I’d hoped. Too much of the album sounds as if all the songs could be amalgamated into two or three, which would have produced a more intricate and dynamic outcome. Even if it was only enough material for an EP. As such was not the case, the album slightly touches the fringe of redundancy and leaves the listener wanting more variation. The Devil is in the details and, more often than not, quality is better than quantity.
Cross examination: Upon further review, although there’s nothing technically wrong with Onward To Glory, there is too much unused potential and it causes the album to feel as if it is incomplete. Joe Haley‘s drumming shows picture perfect technique. And Jason Peppiatt‘s chugs and tremolo picking are tight, his bass playing is solid and his vocals are consistently brutal. But there’s not much more than the basics… and considering that everything slammed to a halt thanks to COVID, it’s not like they didn’t have the time to produce something more gripping. It’s definitely a good album but I wouldn’t call it a great one. Again, this is in part because most of the songs feel and sound as if they are intros or bridges but the rest of the song never shows up. The foundations are here for something quite incredible but too much of the framework seems missing. As if they have the blueprints and supplies but the house isn’t quite built yet.
Closing arguments: Even the most dynamic and complex of music can fall victim to lyrics that aren’t of equal caliber. Sadly, the lyrics on Onward To Glory have to be remarked upon as being such. Much of them are boilerplate for the subject of war. Not to say that the vocals aren’t performed in more than adequate fashion but the words being performed are a bit cliché and, for many of us, substandard lyrics will always betray the singer’s capability by not enabling the listener to form a deeper and more valid connection with the song. With straightforward Death Metal (And anything pertaining to the subject of war) the lyrics need to impress and if I’m being frank, those on Domination Campaign‘s inaugural release did not.
Verdict: Domination Campaign isn’t quite ready for war, although it easily could be. Despite immaculate technical ability, there’s not much real sense of personal style from the musicianship. Much of the album seems semi-tantric by giving the impression that it is building to something but, at the end, there is no great climax. And, be honest, don’t we all want a great climax? That being said, if you are learning to play Death Metal then this is a solid album with which to practice your timing, chugs, tremolo picking or blast beats. And of course, if straight-up, no frills Death Metal is what propels you to headbang with such fury as if you were endowed with your very own Corpsegrinder-esque neck muscles, you may enjoy this album more than I did!
(2 / 5)
