Dick Dabs & The Shatters – Volume II – “Crumble Dreams” is a modern free-running metal landscape

Dick Dabs & The Shatters have a sound like no one else in the world right now. Their metal album Dick Dabs & The Shatters – Volume II – “Crumble Dreams” is equal parts euphoric, furious and incendiary. Right out the gate, the project made up of Jud Moller and Tony Soliz destroys. The heavy raging tracks here condense all the best of metal and its endless subgenres, into burly, merciless onslaughts. The opening track, “We Fight” (feat. Tony Soliz) strikes a flawless balance between defiant, proud melodic vocals and testosterone-soaked musical aggression, a rebel anthem that can slot perfectly into any head-banging playlist.

Soaring and punishing vocals against sharp, disjointed percussion and cutting guitars define the band’s powerful overdriven-driven backbone on “Nuclear Fallout” (feat. Tony Soliz). Behind the heavy as hell guitars, inventive composition, and seamless production, the effects-filled vocals are more than connective tissue and are responsible for facilitating the fusion of sounds that this album delivers to compelling effect.

At times, the vocals are more robot-like, but with a gravelly melodic coarseness to their depth and a flow, as can be heard on the explosive “Right Now” (feat. Tony Soliz). Generally speaking, there is a sense of innovation to the whole thing.

As a sophomore release Dick Dabs & The Shatters – Volume II – “Crumble Dreams” sits in a potentially newfound niche subgenre. The album takes a few listens to fully wrap one’s head around, because of all the disparate elements Dick Dabs & The Shatters bring to the table, and there’s no denying just how much there is to be heard here.

Though the metal genre has proven to be a surprisingly effective vehicle for as wide a range of subjects as the imagination will allow, Dick Dabs & The Shatters take its sound even further down the line.

The dark and growling “Demons On The Ground” (feat. Tony Soliz) is closer to classic abrasive metal, while “Dick Dabs” (feat. Tony Soliz) on the other hand, shows how they have developed a style entirely their own. One of the EP’s greatest assets is the way each track unfolds in an a different original direction.

As is always the case, despite the complexity there is a logic to everything that Dick Dabs & The Shatters do, and a natural flow, no matter how deranged it may sound on the surface. Case in point “Hotter Than Hell (Vol.II)” (feat. Tony Soliz). For anyone searching for music that is as cerebral as it is emotional, then look no further than this record, for it overflows with feeling while doing its best to tie your ears into a knot.

The EP closes with “Black” (feat. Tony Soliz) (Bonus Track), which delivers yet another example of tonal juxtaposition, as whispering melodically-inclined vocals, cut their way through thrashing drums and crushing guitars.

Overall, Dick Dabs & The Shatters – Volume II – “Crumble Dreams” is a modern free-running metal landscape, a devastatingly heavy and creatively bold piece that will keep your head banging for days. Jud Moller and Tony Soliz are musicians that need to be kept an eye on. These guys are going to be accomplishing amazing groundbreaking things with their music in the near future.