Review: Doyle – 'Abominator'

DOYLE 

'Abominator' 

INGROOVES / FONTANA 

It seems that the talent pool has well and truly left The Misfits these days. First Danzig jumped ship for a successful metal career, a host of replacement singers followed after the reunion that produced, admittedly, two great albums in 'American Psycho' (1997) and 'Famous Monsters' (1999). But with Jerry Only taking on lead vocals, and riff-master Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein as well as drummer Dr. Chud exiting soon after, The Misfits have become their own mediocre tribute band... but at least they still have the merch sales.

Since leaving the band he helped found in the late 70's, Doyle has reunited with Glenn Danzig, released one album with his wife Stephanie Bellars, and now struck out with a new band. Joined by Dr. Chud, bassist Graham Reaper and Cancerslug vocalist Alex Story, Doyle can be seen as a mixture of everything Doyle has done up to this date. Mixing hardcore punk, heavy metal, horror-themed lyrics and even a little bit of doom the début album 'Abominator' is something long-time fans will be able to get their teeth into.

The album is crammed full of great riffs, thundering rhythms, sing-a-long vocals and relentless grooves. It essentially picks up where 'Famous Monsters' left off and dials up the guitars a couple of notches. Songs like 'Abominator', 'Dreamingdeadgirls', 'Head Hunter', 'Land Of The Dead' and 'Cemetarysexxx' are exactly what you would hope for from the ex-Misfit. They’re fast, heavy and fun. OK the likes of 'Dreamingdeadgirls' and 'Cemetarysexxx' are somewhat meat-headed in terms of lyrical content but they're so catchy that they will no doubt become a guilty secret for some listeners.

The album does suffer from a few somewhat generic offerings such as 'Learn To Bleed', and 'Valley Of Shadows'. They're still enjoyable, but feel very much like “hardcore by numbers”. Which is a shame as the album is otherwise pretty strong. Even the production is pretty good with a more modern sound chosen over something that would pander to fans of the early Misfits albums.

This is a solid first offering from Doyle. Perhaps a bit heavier than fans of horror punk would usually venture, but well worth a listen if you've ever been a fan of the other band's he has leant his undeniable guitar skills too.

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