Band : Dustsucker

Album title : Diabolo Donation MMVIII

Label : Limb Music Products/ Diversity Media

Distributor : SPV/ Hardlife Promotion

Release date : 02/05/2008

Release : CD

My introduction to the music of this German band came with their debut on the 2004 Go Nuts (a Limb Music Products sister company) release Rock 'n' Roll Sniper . Which was not, as some people seem to think, the band's actual debut!

Because the band, which has always been centered around the two friends Max Count Farmer (lead guitarist & lead singer) and Marco Piermattei (drummer), has been around since 1993, and released their self-titled debut on their own Zylinder Records in 1994. The album, which showed clear influences from the likes of Motörhead , Rose Tattoo , Tank , Fist , and Vardis , got good responses from the press...which encouraged the band to go on. In 1996 the debut was followed up by Another One Sucks The Dust , which saw the guys play some gigs with more established acts like The Exploited , Warpath , and DOA . The band confirmed their unchanging musical with the release of their 1999 EP King Size Rock 'n' Roll . Meanwhile, the line-up occasionally changed, and in 2001 the band even played with a female bassist. The ensuing album Hookers Planet got even better reception from the press than their other material. In 2003 the band recorded their now infamous 3-track Backslider EP with former Thumb singer and cult producer Claus Grabke , an EP which got the band under the attention of Limb Music Products ' sister company Go Nuts , with whom a deal was quickly enough signed.

As a first result came Rock 'n' Roll Sniper , recorded again with Grabke . The band's first internationally distributed album immediately put 'em on the map, resulting in their first extensive tour, both in late 2004 and most of 2005. While already writing new songs for an upcoming album, the line-up was again tormented by changes, but with recordings starting at the beginning of 2006, finalization was eventually made in May, Jack Knife Rendezvous waiting for September release. Following some more line-up problems, 2007 became a somewhat more quiet year, but Max and Marco had already started to write new material. With guitarist H.U. Vanya Drost , the guys jumped into Frankfurt's Black Solaris Studios with Uwe Lulis (formerly with Grave Digger , now guitarist of Rebellion ) at the helm, to record their latest offering. Notes of interest: on the album Lulis also played all bass parts; Jeff Waters of Annihilator performs a guitar solo in the song "Land Of The King" ; since the recordings the trio have recruited Florian Schulz as bassist.

And so now we've come to the part where I feel somewhat awkward. Because in spite of the biography stating that "...the songs retain a certain memorability factor and certainly invites fans to look up the lyrics in order to yell along with them...", I don't quite agree! I mean, although I am usually one to look for the positive qualities in àny band's new album, this one kinda bores me after repeated listenig sessions. Really...even during the first session I fell from a moderate liking of what I heard, to a feeling of "more-of-the-same" as the album progressed. Compared to the band's renowned influences (see above of page) who all have a specific element that lifts 'em above the average cut, the Heavy Garagey Rock 'n' Roll by these Germans simply cannot induce me to stay interested for more than 3 songs in a row!

Of course, you're absolutely free to disagree with me (each his/her own oppinion and all that), and I'm sure the band will find plénty of people quite into their new material. Rather simple and repetitive in build-up, I can actually séé hordes of fans jumpin' up and down at the band's concerts, shouting along with the choruses. Personally, I might be influenced a tight too much by the diversity of music that lands on my table for review, to be really into this heavy straight-forward kinda thing, as brought by Dustsucker.

78/100

Tony.