What was in my car...

Today on the way to work I listened to:

Blood Duster (self titled 2004 release)

After having a week's worth of a classic southern rock obsession (Skynyrd, Foghat, Molly Hatchet) I decided to get back to this millennium while still holding on to the pentatonic guitar riffs that have been tickling my fancy as of late.

Gawd, Blood Duster rocks! They somehow combine classic death/grind metal (classic Carcass, Napalm Death) with power rock grooves and hillbilly southern rock. What separates these Aussies from the rest of the death metal bands is the fact that they don't get too serious. Most death bands lately have become a caricature of themselves... yeah whatever--you worship the horned goat and you want me to bathe in blood. Blood Duster keeps it fun by "singing" about silly subjects and inserting wacky samples between their 1-minute songs.

This release is by far the strongest offering from Blood Duster. The production has a better budget, the songs are more focused--yet are varied enough to keep it interesting. "Str8 Outta Northcoat" may have better songs here and there, but "Blood Duster" qua album is definitely the one to buy for newcomers.

******* outta 8