Album Review: The Fangs Of The Dodo - The Curtained Sleep
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
I’ve seen The Fangs of the Dodo a few times. Always entertaining. They made the final of the 2019 Bristol Metal to the Masses and put on a decent show, falling just short at the final hurdle. With respect to the band, the heaving death and thrash metal which seems to dominate the New Blood Stage these days would have seemed an inappropriate place for a ‘notorious’ band of meta-human supervillains. For that is what Fangs of the Dodo are. Led by the mysterious Count Dodo (vocals, bass), the rest of the band are Cinder (vocals, keys), The Prisoner (guitar, backing vocals), The Guardsman (guitar, backing vocals) and Hazard (drums, backing vocals). A motley crew if ever there was one.
2018’s debut EP ‘Hopiates’ stirred interest and subsequent shows around the country and at London's MCM Comic Con and MacMillan Fest merely added more notoriety and mystery. ‘The Curtained Sleep’ contains five tracks that should appeal to a wide range of fans. Their gothic art-rock sound contains slices of My Chemical Romance, Them Crooked Vultures, Fall Out Boy and Creeper, plus numerous others.
‘The Crime of the Century’ opens the EP, a bombastic yet sinister track, a rallying call which secured airtime on Kerrang! Radio and Planet Rock. With an underlying story about the Count’s collapsing life threaded through the tracks, we then get the bittersweet ‘Safe’, as he struggles with anxiety and agoraphobia, the harrowing guitars and gentle tempo underlying the angst that flows. Cinder takes the lead vocals on ‘Hung By A Thread’, her sweeter tones contrasting with the pained delivery of The Count, the hook and industrial edge demonstrating another style to the band. Referencing the voice that keeps you tethered through the storms of life, we reach the midpoint mark of the EP and a chance for respite.
It’s no lighter on ‘Home’, despite the soaring chorus and harmonies, as the Count experiences a degrading attraction to his curse of eternal life before being driven mad by his isolation from the world in ‘The Cause', an electronic, industrial and harrowing end to a truly intriguing release. Whilst the comic book story takes central place, it doesn’t detract from the well-constructed songs, the performances of the band showing a maturity that may have been less prevalent on Hopiates. It is a work of maturity and expansion and as such is well worth a listen.
'The Curtained Sleep' is released on April 3rd!
#ICYMI - Check out The Fangs of the Dodo shipwrecked on Devil's Island here.
