Arts / ‘Best album yet’ for metal heavyweights
REWIND to the Thule Bar at the Rising North festival earlier this month, and Ten Tonne Dozer vocalist Dave Kok is having a jolly old time parading around mid-song in multiple pairs of glasses he’d borrowed from some of the sweat-drenched audience.
The rest of the band are standing valiantly behind the singer and his antics, churning out their groove metal sound that’s been blasted through venues across Shetland, the UK and beyond over the last 20 years.
It is clear their live show is a force to be reckoned with, and has an impressive knack of drawing in the previously unconverted. But what about their recordings?
The five-piece are back with their latest album, the charmingly named Tres Herpes, and guitarist Jamie Dalziel reckons it is their top offering yet.
“I think this is going to be our best sounding record yet,” he said.
“I think it says Dozer is still going from strength to strength, and we will still be going in another 20 years.
“I’m really happy with how the record is sounding. Everyone has worked so hard on getting it sounding great.
“It’s a really strong list of tracks, ranging from tunes written in the 90s all the way up to tunes that were finished this year.”
Tres Herpes, which was recorded with the help of Fiction drummer Chris Coles, is a 12-track album which finds Dozer at their finest.
As Dalziel suggested, the record spans the history of the band – grabbing some tunes written decades ago and giving them a chance to shine on record, while showcasing some new songs too.
One jewel in the crown is Roo Shooter, a raucous romp which had only ever been recorded live, while there’s also tracks like Two Thirds Beast – which breaks down into a face-gurning groove – and Theatre of Pain, a masterclass in metal writing with chugging riffs and searing leads.
It’s perhaps apt that the record does give a nod to the past, given that the band are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a gig at the Gulberwick Hall on Saturday night (30 August), where the album will also be launched.
The record, meanwhile, is the first Dozer release to feature drummer Dean Williamson, while former bassist Keith Nicol is back in the fold to lay down some trademark low-end.
Completing the line-up is nimble-fingered guitar wizard Jamie Duncan, a founding member and key songwriter.
Drums were recorded at the studio in Wethersta, sometimes affectionately nicknamed ‘Shabby Road’, with the rest completed at Kok’s Outpost headquarters in Burra.
Artwork for the album, which will be released on CD and digitally, was created by local artist Dirk Robertson, who has coined yet another intricate and eye-catching painting.
“It’s the best studio album we have done by far,” Kok said. “Chris Coles has captured us pretty good. It’s hard to sometimes get the right Dozer sound, but it’s nice and beefy.
“We love the energy you get from a Ten Tonne Dozer live show and we finally think we’ve got a studio album that represents that well.”
Coles said it has been a “real privilege” to be involved in the project and lend his studio and production skills to the process.
“I’ve known the guys in Dozer for a few years but have never worked with them before, so on this record I took a backseat to focus on the vision they already had,” he explained.
“In the past I’ve often been a musician, co-writer or de facto producer on the recordings I’ve worked on, but here I stepped back to focus on capturing their performances as they intended.
“That said, I did contribute some additional layers: a string arrangement on Two Thirds Beast, and some atmospheric sound design elements like impacts and risers on a few tracks.
“These were subtle touches, designed to enhance the overall sound without altering the core of the songs.
“The band put their trust in me, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience to help bring their music to life. I’m excited for the album to finally be released and for people to hear what they’ve created.”
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