REVIEW: Dub Trio – IV

Artist: Dub Trio
Album: IV
Genre: Dub Rock
Label: ROIR!

Reviewing albums that meld seemingly unrelated styles of music has led me on a rather interesting journey. You may remember my reviews for some of these albums, such as Lulu or The Browning, and how they weren’t really that positive. Brooklynites Dub Trio are about to change all that. Fresh off the release of their fourth record, aptly titled IV, Dub Trio deliver a fresh and groovy combination of dub (note: not dubstep) and rock. The album dropped October 25th on ROIR! and can be purchased at pretty much any place you’d normally shop for records.

Over the course of metal’s history there have not been many bands in which being almost completely one-dimensional could be considered a good thing. Motörhead is probably the best example, but Dub Trio are making a case to be added to the ultra-elite class of bands who need to do nothing more than one thing incredibly well to captivate all listeners. Fortunately for Dub Trio, they have just that. Thick, heavy, plodding grooves from start to finish characterize and champion the gentlemen in Dub Trio.

More impressive than the thick grooves and the super weird dub sections (meant in the best way possible) is how closely Dub Trio often float between the two: from slow, plodding, crushing sludge riffs to heavily reverberating riddim sections that lock in grooves with the utmost tightness. Huge, colorful tones throughout the entire record bring it all to life–every guitar part sounds enormous, every drum hit is mammoth. Beyond how solid this album is musically, the production and mixing give it the extra boost it needs to become a truly great album. For all parts on this album, the mix is incredibly appropriate, and transitions between the more dub-heavy parts and the more metal-heavy parts are as smooth as one could hope.

At face value, Dub Trio’s IV is not a complex album, and it doesn’t really appear that it is out to accomplish very much. It is obvious, however, that you will be hearing heavy, locked-in grooves, and there’s not really anything you can do about it. Upon subsequent listens, the more subtle and hidden gems of content on this album will be realized, only drawing you deeper into Dub Trio’s world. Certainly worth a listen, even if just because you’ve probably never heard anything like it before (unless, of course, you’re already a Dub Trio fan).

Overall score: 8/10
Review written by: Jordan Munson

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