90%
Not too many bands could go through five vocalist changes and a seemingly endless cycle of other personnel reshuffles and still come out not only swinging, but landing punches.
25-year Australian metal veterans Frankenbok have probably suffered more resets than most others but each time refuse to lay down and die. Stripped back to a four-piece and with Dan McDougall back at the mic, the ‘Bok’s seventh album reaffirms the power and legacy of one of this country’s hardest-hitting bands. Rolling Dice on Dirty Streets enters the fray with a mean, tight and grimy groove and Frankenbok are back in the game.
Frankenbok have always sounded furious, but rarely have they sounded this dangerous. Overdose is a raw and immediate outpouring of rage, fortified by a heavy groove that wallows in murk, bolstered by sudden and surprising bursts of melody that vanish as quickly as they appear, rumbling bass lines that occasionally bust free to help smash home a point and McDougall’s scathing, sometimes wildly rambling roar and bark attacking falsehoods, hypocrisies and social evils. Only on album highlight and closing track Black Iron Prison does Frankenbok ease off from the outright hammering, with guest Jason Richmond’s vocals adding a melodic touch and McDougall’s voice taking on an Anselmo-like quality in the choruses.
Thrown together in the studio in a manner of days, the live feel permeates across every track, adding more venom and a deeper level of ferocity to the band’s all-out attack. Overdose‘s grimy, street-level punk-metal groove is Frankenbok coming back with a vengeance. You can’t stop the ‘Bok.
