Earlier this year, D-A-D turned 40 years and brought out the traditional best of compilation with a stonking list of belters from over the decades. Now, some bands might rest on those laurels and relax a bit. Since their last album, A Prayer For The Loud, in 2019, D-A-D have written 40 new songs. Anyone who has ever seen this band will be aware of their unique look and take on things. So, writing 40 tunes by the time they reach 40 years feels totally normal. Picking the best fourteen of those has now created their new release, Speed Of Darkness.
D-A-D – Speed Of Darkness (AFM Records)
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Sid Kissinger
And what an album. An instant must-have for any D-A-D fan, or, in fairness, rock fan. Forty years of honing skills, sounds, and creativity really come to shine. Their years of experience and excess of material means they could filter all the best bits and distil them into this latest album.
In many ways, this album is very recognisable, with Jasper’s vocals, Jacob’s American twanged guitar sounds, Laust’s (for rock) unorthodox traditional grip on the groove machine or Stig’s two-string bass backbone. And yet, they are still finding new flavours and sounds to foray into and claim as their own expanding world of D-A-D music.
Like many of their albums, the album name is after one of the songs, fourth in the list and is a perfect example of sounding recognisable D-A-D with extras! You have the softer rock verses over jangly guitar grooves and a steady beat, very much in line with many of their songs. Once the chorus kicks in, though, there is a real heaviness and fullness to the sound, with tonalities not typical of the band but fitting perfectly. You cannot help but do that satisfied face on hearing the build. It is like you have just put your face into a slice of dark chocolate sponge cake.
The opening number, God Prays To Man, is an excellent starter with those crunchy boogie riffs that get your head nodding. The second song, 1st, 2nd & 3rd, is reminiscent of their heavier riffs in I Want What She’s Got or Monster Philosophy and that pure heavy D-A-D sound.
Next, things become a bit expansive again with The Ghost and its distinctive soundscape guitar phrasing, verging on post-rock sounds. It feels like a late-night drive through the desert with a driving tempo and soundscape to match. Lyrics of “I’ll wrap my arms around a memory, and I’ll be sleeping with the ghost” add to the slightly dreamy sound.
Head Over Heels is then back to the excellent type of American-influenced rock ballad that they do so well. Even their more expected songs have little nuggets and phrases, which make things sound a little different from any of their previous material without sounding out of place. It is a fresh addition to their already excellent sound.
This continues throughout the album, from groovy rock numbers like Keep That MF Down or the anthemic Live By Fire to the really slow, heavy Strange Terrain or the more punky Everything Is Gone Now.
“For the first time in three to four albums, I am totally excited about our material,” Jesper Binzer said, “and I look forward to going into the studio every single day. We have an excess of both songs and ideas, and this is a place that I have wanted to reach with the last three to four D-A-D albums. It’s crazy how things are circular that way. I thought that everything was done, and I thought that we were just old guys who were doing whatever we could, but a new necessity has arisen.”
Speed Of Darkness finishes with the balladry of I’m Still Here, a reflective piece that is a befitting end to a wonderful album. Despite their serious Danish characteristics, I would say that overall it is still very much party time in Disneyland, and long may it last.
