Dope
Blood Money Pt.1
(eOne Music)
Chicago based industrial nu-metallers Dope are back with their first record in nearly a decade and it’s been a long time coming. Originally slated for a release back in 2014, the album will now consist of two separate parts and if I were a betting man, I would say that the second part of the performance will arrive sometime later next year. I’ve been a fan of Dope since I was teenager, still having original copies of Felons and Revolutionaries, Life, Group Therapy and American Apathy in my personal collection. You might say that they sort of fell off the wagon after that, with No Regrets being a little bit more of the same. That brings us to the new album, which actually does manage to add some new things to the patented Dope formula, which is normally based in down-tuned grooves, vehement profanity and the occasional melodic rock piece. It’s a formula that has always worked for me in the past, but perhaps in my later age it doesn’t appeal so much. I’m not so sure. The band who was able to put such a song like “Die MF Die” on the map is certainly showing their staying power after all of these years, which definitely makes a statement.
The record opened right with the title track, which you can catch a video for over at Vevo right now. It’s very commonplace for Dope, but it doesn’t hit me as hard as “Bitch” did on Group Therapy. There is one section of the cut where the reiterated section, “I watch you get high for a living, watch you die for a living” comes out much better after the bridge, even though it doesn’t feel as strong in the chorus before the bridge. You’d have to hear it to understand what I’m saying, but I will say that I wished they had gone with that style in the chorus instead. “Shoulda Known Better” is one of Dope’s more rocking ballads, it also reminds me of the band’s less vulgar material. The song seems to be about a bad relationship and it almost comes off with a sort of skater mentality. It’s just the kind of song that I could see in skateboard videos. (Do people still skateboard like they used to?) After that, we have the haunting “Lexipro” which is just a mere seed here. It’s essentially a sort of interlude, but it would be a shame if a piece so haunting and different for a band like Dope didn’t sprout into something awesome on the second part of the album. Then we have the band’s next single, “Hold On” which makes me think of Bullet For My Valentine, but is far more tolerable. This, like “Shoulda Known Better” still contains that melodic rock vibe, relying more on a type of modern melodic thrash than the crunch and grooves that we’re used to. “1999” is a strong note for fans of Classic Dope like myself and almost feels like it’s on the level of Felons and Revolutionaries. The funny thing about the track is that I’m wondering the same thing – how are these guys still around? Perseverance, I suppose.
“Razorblade Butterfly” continues the lamenting over a scarred relationship that you should already notice from the minute “Hold On” starts playing. This one is definitely catchy and features more of an electronic vibe than some of the others. I’m reminded a bit of Klayton from Celldweller here. “Drug Music” also has the same Celldweller vibe, but I don’t think this was Dope thieving from Celldweller, I rather think that Klayton took much from Dope in his work. Both of these artists are great, so if you like this kind of electronic rock/metal, you will definitely find what you’re looking for with Celldweller and the Fixt label. “Hypocrite” adds some Gojira sweeps to the mix (yep, I mean that) and it comes off as a much heavier cut than some of the others. It’s not as catchy, but it packs more of a punch. There are a few other cuts to be discovered here, as well as “Selfish” which you can also find a video for on Vevo, but I’m not here to spoil the rest of the album for you. As for the aforementioned, it isn’t necessarily my favorite track (but I do like the sub-chorus) but it isn’t their worst piece either. I can actually say the same about the recording as a whole. I don’t hate it, but I don’t think that it’s their best album either. I think that Dope fans are going to appreciate the amount of variety though and they’re going to be pleased with a band trying so many new things in an effort to keep relevant.
If there’s one thing that stuck out to me on Blood Money Pt.1 it was the hugely noticeable presence of multi-talented guitarist Virus. Dope fans will be very surprised to hear him pulling several unexpected styles from out of his repertoire (check this guy’s wiki, he’s done everything you can think of and that includes playing country as well as writing music for game companies) and those will seem just as much a surprise as the band’s use of dance-club electronics and dub (but I won’t say dubstep, even though it does come a bit close to that in some points on the album) beats as well as dnb which I suppose just goes to show the evolution of electronic music in the last couple of years. It’s been a long time coming and may not have been exactly what I wanted, but I guess it was time for the band to overhaul their sound a bit, and even then; they still sound like Dope. After all these years, very little has changed and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with the final product.
