Dukatalon - Saved By Fear

Ok so name just one sludge, doom act from Israel ? Not an easy question is it, in fact this is the only one I can think of right now so that in itself makes Dukatalon an interesting prospect. I would have not even heard them if it wasn't for Relapse Records coming to the rescue and giving this an international release over a year after it was recorded and released locally on Sleeping Village Records. If you have ever seen the documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad," you would know that metal does in fact exist in that part of the world despite the handicap of living in such a controlled environment and some of the bands are great but for them, getting the music out to the rest of the world is just a nightmare that us westerners wouldn't and couldn't really understand. Dukatalon with Zafrir Zori (vocals and guitar), Lior Mayer (bass), and Yariv Shilo on drums have produced an album that is generic to a point but still brutally efficient at delivering some killer riffage with an aggressive attitude. Sounding in the vein of Eyehategod is not uncommon for American bands but it must be pretty extreme for a band from Israel to sound like this. At first I thought this might be a sub-par, recorded in a basement kind of record giving where they come from but I was pleasantly surprised to hear how professional this outfit is and how tasty is the production, this is world-class sludge-doom metal, not original but then again, who is ? The band have a great fuzzy guitar sound, abrasive vocals, thundering bass and sometimes a complex brand of drumming for a sludge band so all the right elements are here but what are the songs like ?

Opening track "Pai's" gets the album on a pulverizing start although kind of predictable for its 6 plus minutes but by the time second track, "Run" gets on its way, the hooks come thick and fast on what is an infectious collection of songs. The band obviously know how to make killer riffing but also how to make it a bit catchy which is something you don't come across that often in a sludge band. "Run" is the tune that reassured me that I won't have to worry too much about this being "just another band" slapping riffs together and cranking up the fuzz. There is some underlying quality to the tunes that keep this album's momentum flowing and it kicks ass. Make no mistake either about this being a sludge-album but it is a old-school one as the traditional songwriting of the past is used to great effect. Third track "ZX" offers no break from the pummeling attack either as it brings the album up to the 18 minute mark with crushing intensity. Just as the album becomes in danger of going into repeat mode, they bring out an almighty plodding riff in "Vagabond" which is the albums centerpiece and highpoint. While it is not all that different from what the rest of "Saved By Fear" has to offer, there is something about this track that has some staying power in your memory. Guitarist, Zafrir Zori has some groove to his weaponry that keeps this from sounding too predictable and the biting harshness of the vocals are just tortured beyond belief at times but if there is a weakness, it would be that as they get buried at times by the rest of the band but I guess you can blame the production for that.

The title track supply's a break from the chaos with an acoustic interlude and while the break is welcomed at first, this is the albums weakest track but it is also the shortest at only 3 and a bit minutes. However it is followed by the album's longest track titled "Electric Site" and this is monster example of sludge if I have ever heard one. Using a solid, steady tempo for over 9 minutes, this tune rumbles along beautifully with a mass of gigantic riffs that verge of old-school power metal at times. The overall effectiveness is lost just a tad by being too long and not having enough musical twists to keep it interesting but still the opening half of the song is worth the trip. "Gate of Mind" follows nicely with another great bout of riffage but it is interesting how the band changes gear in the song, so much so it almost sounds like a different band altogether. The last track up is "Mekonenet" and it offers no surprises, just more of the same but it is an intense sludge-doom hybrid that is typical of what is happening in sludge-doom circles but if it is good, its good so who cares. Don't expect any middle-east traditional sounds on this, this is a very americanized version of the genre and yes it is mostly very predictable and generic but they are great at what they do so it is hard to pick holes in what is happening on "Saved By Fear" when it is this good. The layers of sound are powerful but slightly over-done in passages and it takes away some of the intensity coming from the vocals. The production is still very good and I wasn't expecting that from a band from Israel and as you can see the artwork on this release is spectacular. Can't say this is perfect but it is still solid and this is certainly a band to watch out for in the future and three cheers to Relapse for putting this one out.......7.5/10
Dukatalon @ MySpace
Sleeping Village Records @ MySpace