Dopethrone - Broke Sabbath (Album Review)

Release Date: May 24th 2024. Record Label: Totem Cat Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Broke Sabbath: Tracklisting

1.LIFE KILLS YOU 03:26

2.TRUCKSTOP WARLOCK 05:35

3.A.B.A.C. 07:17

4.SHLAGHAMMER 05:04

5.ROCK SLOCK 08:31

6.UNIWORSE 04:23

7.SULTANS OF SIN 05:04

Review

Sludge Metallers Dopethrone return after a lengthy six year absence with their new album Broke Sabbath which is a grimy, nihilistic and pissed off take on their normal blend of down-tuned Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal. As the title suggests there’s a slight influence of Black Sabbath in the air but this album is more closely linked to the likes of Electric Wizard, THOU, Bongzilla and Weedeater with the seedy sounds that appear on the album.

Dopethrone are wildly chaotic and offers many unexpected movements of Sludge Metal on this album which we haven’t heard from the band before. There’s raw sounding production techniques used throughout the album that allows Dopethrone to achieve maximum WEEDIAN effect which gives their music a more violent feel.

Opening track Life Kills You is a fast-paced and aggressive affair with the downbeat energy appearing within the lyrics and vocals delivered through the track. The sound is helped by a buoyant and nasty soundclip that gives the track a more self aware feeling whilst allowing Dopethrone to become masters of their sinister domain. The instrumental sounds are down-tuned and quite vicious but there’s some fantastic riffs waiting to be heard which the band conjure up more despairing instrumental jams.

Second track Truckstop Warlock has a creepy CHURCH OF MISERY essence with its bass heavy atmosphere merged with the AMPLIFIER WORSHIP style of downtrodden Stoner Metal making a welcome appearance. The vocals are harsh and coarse but always brutally effective. The SABBATHIAN experience only tells half the story with Dopethrone slowly creating their own definitive style of music with the sludgy and psychedelic guitars leading the way.

Third track A.B.A.C. is one of the heaviest and nastiest tracks on the album but given a slightly demonic and satanic touch. Dopethrone adds a slight Progressive sound where the music is dominated by long drawn out sludge metal grooves and devilish vocals conspiring for perhaps one of the best tracks that the band have written to date. The LOW & SLOW methodology of delivering punishing grooves works amazingly well with the raw sound that dominates the grimy landscape on this track and for the remainder of the album.

Dopethrone do play some classic Doom/Sludge Metal guitar shredding throughout various stages on the album which gives this album a more riff-centric sound even when they blend harsh Psychedelic and WEEDIAIN influences into the mix especially on tracks such as A.B.A.C, Shlaghammer and Rock Slock.

Fourth track Shlaghammer sees Dopethrone continue to play and perfect their own unique style of LOW & SLOW sounds with a punishing underground essence which allows their music to become more DOOM & GLOOM obsessed but still with a healthy sideline in Sludge Metal aggression. There’s a mean creative energy that appears with Shlaghammer with moments of Droned Out Stoner Metal jams with the guttural vocals allowing Dopethrone to remain firmly in the darkness. 

The next few tracks of Rock Slock. Uniworse and Sultans Of Sin has moments of epic and maddening guitar shredding with the seedy Psychedelic grooves aligning themselves further to the harsh vocals and brutal lyrical content that are some of the heaviest and bleakest tracks on the album. However, there’s moments of great humour that appears here and there which still allows Broke Sabbath to be have a thrilling “FUCK IT” experience especially on Sultans Of Sin.

Broke Sabbath is Dopethrone most outlandish and one of their heaviest records to date that will keep their legion of fans brilliantly entertained for a very long time to come. As this is perhaps their best album in years. Awesome. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage for the promo.

Broke Sabbath is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Totem Cat Records.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Canadian Sludge Metal Juggernauts DOPETHRONE Return With New Album "Broke Sabbath" on Totem Cat Records. New Track "Uniworse" Now Streaming

Montréal-based sludge metal dealers DOPETHRONE return after six years with their new album "Broke Sabbath" on Totem Cat Records this spring, and unleash their devastatingly heavy new single "Uniworse"! The trio has announced a full Canadian tour as well as a string of European summer shows including some festival appearances.

 

Whenever the world thinks Dopethrone has finally disappeared, be sure that Canada's filthiest heavy trio is rustling up something evil in the dark corners of their twisted minds... The beast has awakened and it's now ready to deliver maximum levels of grim, fuzz and fun with their sixth studio album "Broke Sabbath", a noxious 7-tracker recorded by long-time collaborator Jean-Baptiste Joubeaud and coated with copious amounts of asphyxiating sonic density thanks to mastering from Brad Boatright.

About the album, the band says: “We went full ‘Volume 4’ on this one. The last few years have been thought for the underground, we swam against a tsunami of nonsensical bullshit and still managed not to drown. It's just like a stew, we all know that the scum always rises to the top... And here we are! We decided to turn up the ‘not giving a fuck’ knob to 11, stepped out of our rusty dumpster, gave it a spit-shine and lit the fucker on fire. We went ‘full DIY’ on the cover artwork. We grabbed a shit-ton of Hochelaga alley dirt, junk, slutch and dumped it on our saloon floor, made a concoction of ‘fake’ blood and proceeded to surgically etch the Dopethrone logo on this stinking putrid pile. We also made all our videos with no budget and full dedication. Passion is known to exceed the norms of expectation, but we're not passionate, we're obsessed, so you better buckle up.”

"Broke Sabbath" will be released in the spring of 2024 on various vinyl editions, CD and digital through independent label Totem Cat Records. 

Don't miss their latest video for Life Kills You below

New album "Broke Sabbath" - Out this spring on Totem Cat Records (vinyl/CD/digital)

TRACKLIST:

1. Life Kills You
2. Truckstop Warlock
3. ABAC
4. Shlaghammer
5. Rock Slock
6. Uniworse
7. Sultans of Sins

Dopethrone is a three-piece band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Active since 2008, this DIY gang encompasses the bleakness of black metal, the steadfastness of New Orleans-style sludge, and a heavier-than-thou doom mentality. The riffs are thick, punishing, suffocating and destructive, with lyrics based on self-destruction, murder, cannabis and sleazy drug abuse. The band refers to their music as “Slutch”, the Canadian term for cold sludge or dirty mud snow. They once described it as “frozen sludge, snow covered in crackhead diarrhea, blood, tears and broken dreams”.

After their second release "Dark Foil" (2011), Dopethrone started drawing some attention and were invited by Voivoid to play Roadburn Festival in 2012. They since haven’t stopped growing their audience in Europe, their adoptive land. Since their formation, Dopethrone has released five studio albums as well as some collaborations with other artists, and have regularly toured Europe and Canada.

After a series of tours in 2019, Dopethrone has retreated to focus on the “delicate” baking of their sixth studio release. This new album entitled "Broke Sabbath" will be released in the spring of 2024 through French independent label Totem Cat Records, followed by shows in North America and Europe.

Dopethrone 2024 shows:

19.04 - Victoria, BC - Wicket Hall
20.04 - Vancouver, BC - Green Auto
21.04 - Kelowna, BC - Jackknife Brewery
22.04 - Nelson, BC - The Royal
24.04 - Edmonton, AB - The Buckingham
25.04 - Calgary, AB - Modern Love
26.04 - Regina, SK - The Exchange
27.04 - Winnipeg, MB - Handsome Daughter
----
07.08 - Warsaw (PL) Hydrozagadka
08.08 - Jaroměř (CZ) Brutal Assault Fest
09.08 - Waldmunchen (DE) Void Fest
10.08 - Seelbach (DE) Hoflärm Festival
11.08 - Basel (CH) Quarterdek
13.08 - Nijmegen (NL) Merleyn
14.08 - Berlin (DE) Neue Zukunft
15.08 - Hamburg (DE) Hafenklang
16.08 - Copenhagen (DK) Stengade

Dopethrone is:

Vince - Guitar & Vocals
Vyk - Bass
Shane - Drums

Dopethrone links

Facebook ⎜ Bandcamp ⎜ Instagram

Totem Cat Records links

Website ⎪ Facebook ⎪ Bandcamp ⎪ Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.

DOPETHRONE - Transcanadian Anger (Album Review)

Release date: May 25^th 2018. Label: Totem Cat Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Transcanadian Anger – Tracklisting

1.PLANET METH 03:44

2.WRONG SABBATH 04:30

3.KILLDOZER 04:39

4.SCUZZGASM 05:20

5.TWEAK JABBER 03:44

6.SNORT DAGGER 04:25

7.KINGBILLY KUSH 03:14

8.MISERABILIST (Feat Julie)

Members

Vince - guitars & vocals

Vyk - Bass

Shawn - Drums

Julie - Vocals on "Miserabilis

Review

Transcanadian Anger is the new album from Canada's premiere Sludge/Doom/Filth Merchants - Dopethrone. The album is perhaps their heaviest and angriest offering yet with the band writing blistering political based lyrics and harsh Doom/Sludge Metal sounds. The band is five albums into their epic career and they show no signs of stopping their aggressive behaviour.

Opening track - Planet Meth - opens in trademark Dopethrone fashion with brutal sounding Doom/Sludge Metal grooves and the harsh growls from lead vocalist Vince. The heavy bass line is instantly recognisable as Dopethrone build up a thunderous sounding rhythm for a cool progressive feel. The lyrics are quite harsh. Even for Dopethrone. It seems the band have been heavily influenced by current problems within the world. As Transcanadian Anger doesn't shy away from creating gloomy atmospheric vibes. The band manages to include their deadly sense of wicked fun that's been a major staple of their previous albums.

Second track - Wrong Sabbath - is less volatile than the opening song but still manages to incorporate a lot of harsh sounding vocals, riffs and lyrics.

Third track - Killdozer - is classic sounding Dopethrone with fast-paced Doom/Sludge sounds but with more hard-hitting aggression. The song is perhaps the most hard-rocking listed on the album. As this song has quite an addictive groove.

The next two tracks – Scuzzgasm and Tweak Jabber - may have very tongue-in-cheek titles but they perhaps offer some of the albums heaviest moments with the band putting in a commanding performance. The whole tone of the album doesn't really change much but that's a good thing as Dopethrone are known for creating a certain type of sound. It's a sound they brilliantly excel at.

There are a few psychedelic and progressive sounds heard on the album that I really enjoyed. As it shows the band have matured into one of the most dependable and recognisable bands within the world of Doom/Sludge Metal.

The production is perhaps what makes this album. As the album sounds so brutally heavy from the start. You can feel the full force of Dopethrone coming at you from all angles and it's impossible to ignore. Especially on the epic last song - Miserabilist. A slightly depressing number with a few weedian influences hidden amongst the dark brooding sludge based grooves.

The line-up may have changed recently. However that hasn't stopped Dopethrone for constantly releasing great albums and Transcanadian Anger maybe their best album to date.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo. Transcanadian Anger is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl from Totem Cat Records.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp