Right from the moment a certain band from Birmingham adopted the title of a 1963 Boris Karloff movie as their name, metal has gone hand in hand with horror.
This symbiotic relationship has not diminished over the years with the likes of Alice Cooper, Misfits, Rob Zombie, Lordi and Ice Nine Kills and many, many others all looking to horror as a source of inspiration with countless others drinking from the same bloody well. Writing songs about ghosts, serial killers and monsters is one thing but for a subject like horror, a level of theatricality is often required. Costumes, props and elaborate stage designs are virtually a necessity; a visual aesthetic to complement, and occasionally elevate the music. The latest act to add to this list of nightmarish creations is corpse-costumed, undead-obsessed German four-piece Dominum who blast onto the scene with debut album Hey Living People (Napalm Records).
Going under the name of singer Dr. Dead, the band is the brainchild of Felix Heldt, producer for the likes of Feuerschwanz and Visions Of Atlantis, supported somewhat anonymously by guitarist Tommy, bassist Patient Zero and drummer Victor.
Catchier than a zombie plague but twice as much fun, curtain raiser “Immortalis Dominum” opens with 80s Synthwave keyboards and boasts the first of many ridiculously infectious choruses.
The upbeat “Danger Danger” and “Half Alive” sound like a Power Metal Ghost with
more hooks than a Hellraiser cenobite while the moodier title track possesses another instantly accessible chorus and a creepy melody that sounds suspiciously like the theme music to 1980 Italian flesh-eater flick Nightmare City.
A coincidence? No, probably not.
More in common with classic ’80s Pop Rock than the Brutal Death Metal it suggests, the irresistible “Cannibal Corpses” is an “I Just Died in Your Arms”-style bite straight to the jugular.
“Patient Zero” is another riff-heavy monster featuring Within Temptation-style choral backing and an all too easily transmissible chorus while the wickedly tongue in cheek lyrics of “We All Taste The Same” come from the same school as Alice Cooper.
The lurching stomp of “Frankenstein” leads into a seriously pumped-up version of “You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record).”
Quite how a song which such bleak lyrical content can be so cheerful and bouncy is something only “Better Shoot Yourself” can answer before the band bow out with the Lordi-esque “The Chosen Ones” and bonus tracks in the shape of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” and “Beds are Burning” by Aussie rockers Midnight Oil.
Arriving so late in the day, Hey Living People is likely to leave a number of meticulously
compiled and finalised best of 2023 album lists in nothing but tatters.
But, late entry or not, welcome to the party. Your hosts are Herbert West, Victor Frankenstein, and a horde of re-animated corpses.
Enjoy.
Buy the album here:
https://lnk.to/DOMINUM-HeyLivingPeople
9 / 10
GARY ALCOCK