Dodsferd’s The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race is for Punks

The outlandishly prolific Grecian act Dodsferd pillages again with their latest rusty-bladed weapon of misanthropic soul degradation, The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race.  This new thirty-minute stain on music’s unfolding history reimagines blackened punk as a dirty engine that only runs on rank piss and rot-liquified flesh.  Mob-centered mayhem seems to be the wick around which this hate-flame burns, since the tracks are bookended by wordless crowd chaos punctuated by deep bomb explosions and shattering glass.  Each of the four main songs occupies between six-and-a-half and eight minutes, making for a very consistent (though at times tiring) listen. A cover of the Misfits’ 1979 song “We Are 138” just barely bumps this effort over the half-hour mark.  For a full-length, this set is pretty brief, but that’s hardly a valid complaint when 2013 saw Dodsferd release two splits, an EP, and a whole other full-length record.

“Breeding Chaos” rants its uncomplicated mission statement with one dogged, grating riff before pausing to drop into the maelstrom of another.  “Creator of Disease” flicks the same greasy middle finger, though distorted guitar arpeggios in the back half feel cascade toward depressive hypnosis, albeit perverted by Wrath’s unaffected, groaning yell.  The best thing about “Stupid Worthless Sheep” is its name, and the fact that it’s followed by a song called “Doubting Your Worth” – we like to assume the “you” in question refers to the aforementioned stupid sheep, thus extending the black joke.  Like most covers, “We Are 138” sticks out with its distinctly different flavor, but it certainly adds to the overall experience.

This review took up a whole lot of words just to say that, if you like your black metal punked to the gills or your punk rock meditatively repetitive, you should totally dig the new Dodsferd record.  It’s short, punchy and completely undecorated with anything that could be considered a modern frill.  It’s not particularly imaginative, but these guys are clearly having a good time, and you probably will, too.

Dodsferd’s The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race comes out March 18 on Moribund. You can stream their cover of the Misfits’ “We are 138” here and pre-order the album here.