Oh Psycho Las Vegas, how we hardly knew thee. It’s been two years since the self-proclaimed rock n’ roll bacchanal went belly up, and its absence has been felt heavily, at least by yours truly. The novelty of seeing the likes of Mercyful Fate, Suicidal Tendencies, and more in the confines of a Vegas casino resort still hasn’t worn off. However, what Psycho was perhaps most known for was the crop of stoner/doom bands who made up the core of their eclectic lineups, one such band being Duel. “But Joe! Didn’t you say Duel wasn’t a stoner/doom band when reviewing their last album, In Carne Persona?” Indeed, I did, but boy was I wrong.
While I still have yet to explore Duel’s back catalog, their latest album, Breakfast with Death, is a far cry from the ’70s metal romanticism that made up In Carne Persona. It’s also not a conventional stoner/doom affair either, making it one complex beast of an album to tackle. That said, there’s no denying the stoner/doom tropes (low fuzzy riffs, doped out demeanor) throughout which would most definitely put Breakfast in said musical box. Knowing my predisposed bias to stoner/doom, you’re probably expecting me to tear this album a new one, panning it as a lazy exercise in THC infused self-indulgence…in which case you’d be wrong.
For what it’s worth, Breakfast with Death is as enjoyable as a stoner/doom album can be, if only for its non-stoner/doom moments. Hook-laden cuts like “Satan’s Invention” and “Berserker” sound like fuzzed out spins on lost NWOBHM artifacts circa 1980, thus being my favorite moments on here and the only ones bearing resemblance to In Carne Persona. There’s also A LOT of breakneck outbursts on here, drawing from influences as vast as Motörhead, ’80s thrash, old school hardcore, and the more freaked out moments of Trouble. Look no further than “Chaos Reigns”, “Fallacy”, and “Pyro”. A stoner subjected to this type of sonic barbarity might have a bad trip, man!
Where Breakfast loses me is its back half, which isn’t necessarily bad or disappointing, but most certainly predictable and one-dimensional. Of all the doom metal gods channeled in Duel’s riffs and grooves, it’s Pentagram who are channeled the strongest on cuts like “Tigers of Destruction” and “Greet the Dead”, the latter boasting riffage straight out of the Victor Griffin playbook. By no means is this a complaint. If you’re gonna borrow, borrow from the best. Yet none of these moments grab me in the same manner as those on Relentless. Then again, what could?
While Breakfast with Death is a creative step back from In Carne Persona, it is, nevertheless, a muscular display of wildly invigorating stoner/doom. Such a statement sounds like an oxymoron, I admit, but take a listen for yourself and you’ll catch my drift. Such a bold amalgamation of stoner, metal, and punk recalls fellow hazy headed trailblazers Mutoid Man and Danava, so if that’s your cup of tea, or rather your joint of marijuana, crank this sucker up to 11 and prepare yourself for Breakfast with Death.
6 out of 10
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Genre: Stoner/Doom Metal
For fans of: Danava, Mutoid Man, Pentagram