With the release of their first two albums — 2016’s In The Wind and 2017’s Street Reaper — the Portland, OR-based doom metal act and JOVM mainstays R.I.P. quickly established their grimy, punishing, and depraved take on metal that they dubbed Street Doom.
Now, as you may recall, Dead End, the Portland-based JOVM mainstays’ long-awaited third full-length album is slated for an October 9, 2020 release through RidingEasy Records. The album sees the band going through a massive lineup change that has resulted in the addition fo a much more aggressive rhythm section — while also drawing from a more diverse array of influences including John Carpenter films, grungy professional wrestling and lo-fi hip-hop among others. The album also finds the Portland-based JOVM mainstays moving away from the early influence of Pentagram and Saint Vitus, but it may be among the most hook-driven of their growing catalog. Thematically, the album touches upon the same themes of its predecessors — death, insanity and leather.
Last month, I wrote about “Out of Time,” Dead End‘s Black Sabbath-like first single, an incredibly accessible track that didn’t scrub away the sludge, slime and grime that has won them attention. The album’s second and latest single, album title track “Dead End,” is a Headbanger’s Ball-like ripper, centered around enormous power chord-driven riffs, rousingly anthemic hooks and howled vocals. Superficially, the track sounds like long-haired era Metallica — but while being sounding as though it could have been part of the soundtrack of a John Carpenter film.