Dog Faced Gods
Stoned Council
4.5
Remember the late 90’s? When metal acts like Nickelback were tearing up the scene, forging the pummeling sound we enjoy today? Wait a second, they weren’t metal at all. So why the hell does the first song of this album sound like a 3 Doors Down single? Darnedest thing… They manage to get louder and faster by the third or fourth song, but these guys are a metal band only if you consider Godsmack and Black Label Society to be extreme.
Dog Faced Gods are a hard rock band out of an Indian reservation in California. They’ve got a modern rock sound with a pretty noticeable southern/stoner/sludge influence that leaks into their songs, usually resulting in scattered, short bits that make me think, “Hey, that sounds a little like Corrosion of Conformity. Good for them.” Their vocalist has that warbly, sincere croon that all those singers in bands like Seven Mary Three and 3DD have. It works.
They can’t seem to decide on one style of rock to play, which is probably for the best. They’ve got a few cuts that sound like that first one I mentioned, with slower, simple chords played with fuzzy distortion. There are a couple of harder songs like “Run, Run”, that come off like a southern-fried Ministry, mostly due to the vocal effects. “Water Pipe Bong” is as transcendent as the title suggests – a tribute to a weed-smoking apparatus. Humor aside, the song is obnoxious. Others like “But Me” are more like COC meets Godsmack. The heavier tracks usually feature some adequate soloing, which is more than most rock bands nowadays can boast. “Simple Man” is by far the highlight of Stoned Council, a soulful acoustic/electric ballad that could pass for a Zakk Wylde work.
Is anyone still reading? For a rock fan (not this Modest Mouse, indie-rock shit, but actual rock), Dog Faced Gods is probably worth a listen, even though I feel that they’re too inconsistent in song-to-song quality, and too geared towards ballads and softer tunes. There’s probably an EP of worthy material here, some of which could find its way onto a commercial rock radio playlist. For the typical metalhead that frequents this site, this album has nothing for you, although your sister or girlfriend might dig it.
