Stereotypical but Consistent - A Review of Dominum's The Dead Don't Die

Most bands release their new full length efforts between January and March or between September and November to increase sales figures. German gothic rock quartet Dominum has released its first full length effort Hey Living People right between Christmas and New Year's Eve last year. The group's sophomore effort The Dead Don't Die has also been released right between Christmas and New Year's Eve this year. This is a clever strategy since families and friends come together during this time of the year and do a lot of shopping. The Dead Don't Die might thus aim for high positions in the German charts in the upcoming weeks.

Readers might wonder how come the band has released a whole new record with eleven new tracks and a running time of thirty-seven minutes in only twelve months. The answer is very simple: this album sounds exactly the same as its predecessor. If you like Hey Living People, you are also going to be enjoying The Dead Don't Die.

The band's musicianship is based upon mid-paced gothic rock songs with energetic drum play, serviceable bass guitar sounds, catchy and simple guitar riffs and melodic vocals performing memorable lyrics about gothic subjects such as adventures involving the undead. The songs are usually about three and a half minutes long. They feature typical songwriting structures such as verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge and one last chorus. The choruses are incredibly catchy and invite fans to clap their hands, bang their heads and sing along enthusiastically. 

Title track "The Dead Don't Die" featuring a few minor folk sounds added by famous guest band Feuerschwanz exemplifies every single element mentioned before. The same could be said about catchy, epic and melodic album highlight "Killed by Life". The band's danceable, mellow and memorable rendition of Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" approproiately closes this album and blends in splendidly on this output even though conservative fans of the original song might cringe a little bit.

The zombie dance doesn't stop here. Dominum have included nine live songs recorded at this year's Graspop Metal Meeting compiling the greatest hits from Hey Living People and two enthusiastic cover songs. The performance clocks in at a compact thirty-four minutes and underlines the quartet's great entertaining qualities such as its passionate communication with its fans. In case you don't want to spend money on purchasing both of the group's records, this second disc features everything noteworthy from the debut album.

It's only logical that Dominum's The Dead Don't Die receives the exact same rating as its predecessor Hey Living People. It might be surprising that such a brand-new band has become so stereotypical so early in its career but fans since the early years and potential newcomers already know exactly what to expect on this output. The quartet offers short catchy gothic rock songs that are best enjoyed in concert or at parties around Halloween. Fans of similarly predictable groups such as Ghost and Sabaton should also give this record a fair try.