Having different bows to your musical string can both hinder and help a band, with fresh directions often urging new people to turn on, while sometimes causing older followers to turn off. Dodsferd are a quartet from Greece whose motto appears to be the bleaker the better, their extreme black metal shrouded in both musical and lyrical darkness. Their latest output, The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race (Moribund), however shows a more punk aspect to the DBSM lovers and it’s a side that is both hit and miss.

Made up of only five songs, the album feels more like an EP than a full-length release and while the execution of The Parasitic… is great throughout, most songs feel a few too many minutes long. Each starting with a sample from the Greek riots in 2012, many of the tracks grab your attention early on, only to lose it halfway through. Opener ‘Breeding Chaos’ is a prime example of this as its blistering start immediately pricks up your ears, only for them to start to wain towards the repetitive end.

The most creative part of the album comes in the form of second track ‘Creator of Disease,’ which couples initial fast-paced punk-esque tones with a slower, melodic metal ending. ‘Stupid Worthless Sheep’ once again though seems to outstay its welcome by one or two minutes, while ‘Doubting Your Worth’ brings a little more black metal to proceedings, creating a mid-tempo track of early enjoyable angst but later bouts of tedium. A cover of Misfits ‘We Are 138’ rounds the album off, bringing with it some impressive vocal screams that suit their version of the song well.

The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race doesn’t quite feature the bleak tones of Dodsferd releases gone by and for anyone looking for that side of the band this album isn’t where to find it. Instead what you will find is a relatively decent punk/black metal affair that has a little too much quantity and not enough quality.

5/10

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EMMA QUINLAN