Dope - American Apathy

My initial response after listening to Dope’s new album American Apathy is “Holy crap! When did Dope grow up?” Technically grown up is not the right term though, as musically the band have progressed back to the sound that made their debut album so enjoyable. Felons and Revolutionaries (1999) was a hard hitting slab of industrial metal with catchy hooks which borrowed largely from the sounds of Ministry, Marilyn Manson and a few others. What it lacked in originality it made up for in passion and vitriolic rage. Edsel Dope had something to say, and he had to say it now.

The life of a touring rock star really seemed to bring out the adolescent side of Edsel and his band mates though, with Life (2001) and Group Therapy (2003) falling victim to songs like Bitch (an alternate version of which makes it onto this disc as a bonus track) with the unfortunate chorus of “The one I love, I hate, but the sex is great.” That attitude is not completely gone on American Apathy (see Sex Machine or Lets Fuck), but the main focus of the album has returned to a force of anger, this time aimed outwards at the current political climate.

Opening track I’m Back sums the album up perfectly. The riffs are a return to form, while Edsel provides a mission statement for the album “I’m back to cause a commotion. I’m back to demoralize. Sit back and feel the emotion. I’m back to keep it alive.” The introductory manipulation of a George Bush speech makes it clear what Edsel’s commotion will be about. “Trusting in the sanity and restraint of the United States is not an option.” It also draws further light to comparisons with Ministry, whose most recent album Houses of the Mole was also aimed squarely at the Bush administration, and both albums prominently feature his famous line “Go home and die.”

Other highlights are No Way Out, a track about the difficulties in changing a complacent society (“Solution: light a match, add fuel, then burn”), and the highly satirical I Wish I Was the President. Always provides a nice break early in the album as Edsel laments the breakdown of an estranged friendship, while still bringing in some cool riffs. Fuck The World also becomes strangely confessional despite the title, with Edsel relating an accidental overdose which almost killed him, but had he not written this song no one would ever have known.

Ending the album proper with a cover of Depeche Mode’s People Are People seems an odd move considering A Perfect Circle also included it on their recent covers album. Dope’s version is heavier, and retains the catchiness of the original, but is not as revolutionary a re-working as the aforementioned was. The album then includes a number of bonus tracks. Alternate versions of older tracks such as the afore-mentioned Bitch, Burn and a new recording of NWA’s Fuck Tha Police (which was previously covered on Felons and Revolutionaries), all of which seem a little unnecessary. This also came with a second disc featuring more alternate or remixed versions of older Dope songs. Although mildly interesting for someone familiar with the bands work, these tracks don’t add any real value to the album proper. No one would have noticed had they been left off.

Dope may not change the world with American Apathy, but it is a great album for banging your head to, and provides a good soundtrack for frustrations about the shape of the world at the moment. And at least they’re trying.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)