Posted on: January 9, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

D.O.A. – The Black Spot / 2007 Sudden Death / 16 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/doapunk / http://www.suddendeath.com /

While there are a number of fans of the music that D.O.A. has put out for the last twenty years, few individuals are familiar with the band’s work on “The Black Spot”. Originally released in 1995, this album marks a tempestuous time in D.O.A.’s life. This was due to the fact that this album marks the first appearance of Wimpy (The Subhumans) as a member of D.O.A.. The inclusion of this new member does not weak the band’s overall output during the disc; at times, the band sounds the best it has ever has. This is likely why Sudden Death this year decided to release an “unauthorized bootleg version” (whatever that means) of the album.

The disc itself starts out with “Blind Men”, a guitar-heavy track that bounces back and forth between catchy vocals and riffs, rough lines that bludgeon just as much as they rend. Never apologetic, never quiet, D.O.A. blast through the 16 tracks of “The Black Spot” as if they were nothing – songs like “Kill Ya Later” show that the band can include a little bit of Rancid to their straight out of 1983 thrashy punk type of sound. “Order” continues the high speed, intense style of the earlier sounds of the disc but drops out much of the heavy, metal influenced sound of earlier tracks. This brings D.O.A. into a style that is reminiscent of a Face To Face or a Ten Foot Pole, but if either of those bands were slightly more heavy than they ultimately were. “Marijuana Motherfucker” brings a British punk sound to “The Black Spot”, which has the effect of keeping things interesting while bringing D.O.A. their most catchy track to date.

The different genres that are broached throughout the entirety of “The Black Spot” are testament to two things: first off, they show that D.O.A. can be comfortable in any style that they end up playing, and secondly, they show that the act has the skill necessary to link together these disparate approaches. Later tracks, such as “I Know Who You Are”, “Bound For Glory”, and “Running Out of Time” continue to make individuals guess where D.O.A. is going. The one thing that listeners will be sure of is the fact that they will be constantly entertained by the band’s punk style, and that the songs present on the disc far outstrip the work of other bands out, be it in 1995 or 2007.

Top Tracks: Marijuana Motherfucker, Bound For Glory

Rating: 7.0/10

1 people reacted on this

  1. Wimpy had been in D.O.A. since 1982, it’s John Wright of NoMeansNo’s first time as Drummer. That’s a pretty glaring mistake

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