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Dreadnaught: Dirty music

24/08/10 || revenant

Since joining staff, I’ve reviewed bands from the USA, Spain, Brazil, Greece, England, Costa Rica, Colombia, Denmark, Belgium and fucking Moldova, and not one single band from my homeland of Australia. I will admit it, it’s a bloody disgrace, and one I’m now rectifying.

Dreadnaught hail from my hometown in Melbourne and are my favourite local band. Like a lot of bands here in Australia, these guys had to work hard at it, funding their first releases before finding a label. “Dirty Music” was the band’s third full length release and, in all respects of the word, is a fucking masterpiece.

“Dirty Music” opens on a high with “Living a Lie”, a hard rocker that is an instant horn raiser. This is pure Aussie hard rock at its finest, with influences running deep in the track from AC/DC, The Angels and other classic Aussie hard rock acts. The album shifts a little for the second track, as the listener is suddenly treated to some monster fucking grooves to open “Scenester”. This opening riff is pure bliss, an even just thinking about it gets me salivating over the keyboard in front of me.

As the album progresses, you find yourself thinking one thing – these guys are fucking pissed off. In their previous album (“Down to Zero”), Greg Trull’s vocals were much more controlled and his singing much more melodic. In “Dirty Music” he really takes it to the next level, screaming his venomous lyrics with intent, and it’s an amazing performance. For such a little guy, he sure has one big fucking set of vocal chords on him, and he’s certainly not pulling any punches lyrically.

But it’s not just Greg who’s taken things to the next level, it’s the whole band. OK, it’s not the most technical album out there, but to say that is missing the point. Everything is done in a down to earth, hard working way and it fits the sound perfectly. This album reeks attitude. It’s in your face, gritty, angry and here to make a major statement. Production values are awesome too, adding to the dirty rock attitude of the album.

The attention to detail these guys put in to completing the dirty rock feel of the package is amazing. Just look at the album cover, for fuck’s sake. A rusted steel plate with a skull and crossbones. Now that’s dirty. Then check out the booklet and band photos – again, the attention to detail is phenomenal.

Oh, and before I close this review off, I do have to mention the hidden track. Normally I hate these, as you end up listening to 5 minutes of dead air to get 30 seconds of bullshit. Not here. Ok, you still have the wait, but the hidden track is a two minute, bluesy acoustic cover of “Hallowed be thy name”, and it’s, in all honesty, a cracker. I just wish it wasn’t a hidden track.

To conclude, Dreadnaught clearly set out to create a filthy, gritty, dirty fucking bastard of a hard rock album, and have succeeded magnificently at it. “Dirty Music” could not have been given a more perfect title, because that’s exactly what it is. If I were to find a flaw in this album (and it is only a miniscule flaw at that), there is not a lot of melody, which could have made the choruses more memorable. But you know what? Fuck melody, this is a fantastic album from a fantastic band. Now go get it, you dirty son of a bitch.

Information
Released: 2005
Label: Roadrunner
Website: www.dreadnaught.com.au
Band
Greg Trull: vocals
Richie Poate: guitars
Damon Alcock: guitars
Andy McDougall: bass
Sandy Bettanay: drums

Tracklist
01. Livin’ a Lie
02. Scenester
03. Broken In Two
04. Money Shot
05. Losing It
06. Enemies
07. Cut Throat Blues
08. Hell
09. Swine Song
10. How Bad Do You Want It?

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