There’s an album release from early October that’s been slumbering with a slight disturbance here and there. Unfortunately, the phonographic recording hasn’t been fully awakened. This may be due to the metal community’s lack of awareness that such, literally a “monster” album exists. Sometimes, all it takes is just a little prodding or probing to bring life to the sonic storm that awaits. Maybe even just an electrified jolt.
Hailing from Nashville or to be more proper fitting, Thrashville is Dead Alive, a four-piece, horror thrash metal outfit. The album being referenced in slumber mode, The Madness of Dr. Ludvig Von Brainmatter (TMoDLVB), the band’s sophomore effort.
TMoDLVB is not just limited to denim and leather thrash riffs, there’s so much more that Dead Alive brings to the laboratory table.
Along with the thrash, elements of Death, Doom and Black metal have been added as well. It may sound odd but seriously, TMoDLVB is precisely balanced with these additional gems.
There will be scattered screams of Black metal, guttural Death metal growls or heavy doom riffs that’s worthy of mention. It may sound an odd accumulation of the three but it works.
Fans of the legendary classic black and white monster flicks just might be familiar with a similar storyline. It all starts with a spoken word of “A Word of Warning” on behalf of the Count.
The album unfolds the story of Dr. Ludvig Von Brainmatter and his life relationship dealings of a creator and his creation.
This journey all starts in a graveyard, on a cold and raining night with the sound of a shovel sifting through soil, rocks and gravel. This leads into “Exhumed,” the first song following the spoken word warning.
The tracking of the CD is simple and easy for the listener to follow the storyline. Each song pulls back another layer to expose the madness of Dr. Ludvig Von Brainmatter.
Following the exhumation, the “Re-Agent” needs to be applied while in the Dr.’s laboratory. He’s surrounded by bubbling flasks, dust covered ancient tomes, glowing vials and flickering candles casting shadows.
During this track, listeners experience a bit of Black metal vocals over thrashing riffs and slow tempos at times.
“Flip the Switch” kicks off the meat of TMoDLVB. The listener will happily devour this section while reaching for the volume knob. There’s four banger tunes one after another. Two of the three, “Volt” and “No Signs of Life,” the true old school thrasher of the album cement the metal. Unfortunately with “No Signs of Life,” the Dr. feels the pain of his failure.
The fourth, “Hollow Man” is a heavier, slower doom with a crunch track. Metal has never tasted so good with that song yet each has their own varied vocal style.
Unfortunately, in “Hollow Man,” the Dr. feels like a failure, wondering who he really is as he traverses the cobble streets. He feels eyes staring at him as he wonders what happened to his soul.
These four standout tracks continue the storyline of TMoDLVB. At this point, the listener should see the tale of the Dr. progressing.
“Fear… Conditioned” with the guttural growls precedes “Gone Mad” that has the Dr. questioning himself. This leads into “From Beyond” which opens an acoustic and a light piano. It’s one of the longer tracks on the album clocking in at 6:41. It sees the Dr. offering others glimpses of his world from beyond. His agonizing screams bring the song to an end. A silence follows with shouts of “It’s alive.”
The guitar kicks in and the familiar words from a debut in August 1982 come across.
Plug me in
I’m alive tonight
Out of the streets again
A cover of Motley Crue’s “Live Wire” is probably the last thing a new listener to TMoDLVB would expect but it fits. The lyrical content is ideal for the coming alive of the Dr.’s creation and the story of Dr. Ludvig Von Brainmatter’s madness. This is how TMoDLVB comes to an end.
TMoDLVB is a solid metal record, a welcoming surprise for the metal community.
Now for the cover art. A band that hires artist Dan Goldsworthy to create the first impression of Dead Alive is serious. Goldsworthy has created art for Cradle of Filth, Sepultura, Inhuman Condition, Left to Die and Heathen. That first impression of TMoDLVB is an A+.
It’s easy to say that Dead Alive did not cut corners or take the cheap way out for TMoDLVB as a whole.
TMoDLVB is that album one stumbles across and takes a chance on with a reward that’s tenfold. The sound of this metal release is amazing. The time and energy put into the recording of TMoDLVB has paid off. It’s not well worth a listen, it’s well worth a purchase to listen at any given moment. Especially when that craving for pure thrash metal arises.
TMoDLVB is a must have. Be aware though, only 300 physical copies of the CD are available and 100 copies for the neon green cassette at Dead Alive Official. For immediate access to TMoDLVB or their debut, Rise of the Skeleton Army, hit Dead Alive’s page on Bandcamp or other streaming outlets.
Dead Alive will hit the road May 8 – 17 with dates in Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky. Click on the Tour link to see if a nearby town is one of the lucky stops.
