DOG FACED GODS
Stoned Council
Vodoo Nations/Pyramid Records 2005
www.dogfacedgods.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
The California band mixes alternative, metal, and hip-hop to bring forth their own sound for their debut album.

Genre
Rock

The Good
The band has no problem turning out some solid pounding rockers. They really shred on some of their songs. The opening track “Desperately” is my favorite cut. It sounds like a typical 1990’s modern rock song, except it’s actually good! I was really surprised right off the bat with this song. They cover Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” on the debut as well. It’s a good cover, though they do over emote the vocals during the chorus.

The first single released from the album, “Bring Me Down,” has a great pounding beat anchored by the rhythm section. It’s a pretty good song, but the vocals do get lost in the mix a bit during the more up-tempo portions of the song.
If you are looking for a pure power driven rocker, check out the song “Run, Run.” It’s a real headbanger. The same can be said for “No One Left". When the band stays on course with their rock influences they are really quite good.

The Bad
The first problem I have with the album is the song “Water Pipe Bong.” If this is a song somehow decrying smoking marijuana, I completely missed the point. It seems to be a rallying cry to actually do it. I’m sorry, but I don’t use drugs and any song that seems to say it’s a good thing, I want nothing to do with. On top of the fact that the song is put together to sound almost like something you’d hear by people who recorded it in a booth at a county fair.

The next item of note would be the two instances of politics entering into the lyrics. If I wanted to know a band’s opinion about the state of the world or how they feel about the politicians running the country I would ask them. Or listen to Rage Against The Machine. However, I don’t care so I don’t do either.

The third and final issue I had with the release is the rap rock influence. I’m sorry, but there were only two successful pairings of rappers and rockers and they were back in the 1980’s. I prefer to hear vocalists singing, not rapping. I hated the 90’s rap rock movement, and I don’t want to see it come back in the slightest.

The Verdict
I was not looking forward to hearing this album when I first got it, but then I got my hopes up after hearing the first song and having it turn out to be so good. I swung back to disappointment for most of the rest of the album. There’s too much of a rap rock influence for me to really enjoy the CD all that much. There are some decent rockers, and readers will enjoy those, but they are spread out over the course of the album and it’s tough going to slog through the lesser material.

Did You Know?
The producer of Stoned Council is Bobby Brooks. He previously worked with P.O.D. and Zebrahead.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts