Dr. Living Dead were the right band at the right time. No doubt about that. Their self-titled album received fantastic reviews across the board. As a result the band was invited to play the prestigious Rock Hard festival and went down a storm with their brand of Metal/Crossover in the vein of early Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies. Guitarist Dr. Toxic is not the one to complain about the reactions Dr. Living Dead's debut received: “I think we're all satisfied with it. Most of the reviews have been really positive so that's a great thing. A lot of people have found out about the band because of the album and many have been a bit surprised about the sound and everything - which is cool. I reckon it was exactly the right album at the right time.
Швеция
There aren't too many current young bands around playing this kind of music so professionally …” So it was indeed a case of perfect timing? Dr. Toxic is getting philosophical: “I'm not sure, maybe it was? As far as the right time to release albums and stuff, I think it's always a good time to release a good album, no matter what style. Even though sometimes the good ones can get lost in the flood if there are too many similar releases at a certain time and then people get tired of it and stuff. We don't really think too much about that because trends change all the time and there's no point in trying to follow them. We just do our thing own.”
Dr. Living Dead played a full European tour with Evile and Portrait, followed by their legendary appearance at the Rock Hard festival in the summer of 2012. “Everything was great about that weekend, not just the show”, reminisces Dr. Toxic. “We really enjoyed that one. During the show we had a few technical problems but no one seemed to care too much and overall it was cool. A great festival indeed!”
.
However, although reviews have been positive in most cases, some critics accused the band of being mere Suicidal clones. The band can live with that criticism though: “You can't please everybody. It's fairly obvious that we dig Suicidal and that they have influenced our style but we have other influences as well and I think we mix it up pretty good altogether. No matter what you do, you will always get these kinds of opinions thrown in your face. Try to name one new band who doesn't get compared to old bands and stuff. For me personally, I think that the music must be honest in such a way that it's really coming from your heart, and not just trying to be something that you're not. That's when it becomes fake and boring, you know ... But like I said, you can't please everyone, and it really doesn't bother us.”
Expectations for the second album entitled “Radioactive Intervention” (the cover artwork was again done by the band's singer Dr. Ape) will be hard to meet, that's for sure. But Dr. Toxic is not losing any sleep over it: “The only pressure we've felt is from ourselves. As long as we're happy with it, I think that there will be plenty of other people who will dig it as well because we're our own worst critics most of the time! I do feel pretty good about the new one and I think the songs are just as strong if not stronger this time and I hope the fans will feel the same way!”
So what can people expect of songs like “Signs From the Other Side”, “The Meaning of Life” or “Mental Warzone”? “Some of the new songs are a bit longer but they haven't lost the punch though”, says Dr. Toxic. “We just wanted to try and make things a bit more interesting, and not put too many limits on ourselves when writing. I think anyone who liked the first one will like this one just as much, if not more. It's still the same ol' Doc!”
That's good to hear. Although the first album by Dr. Living Dead was quite successful commercially, Dr. Toxic is not of the opinion that they have been able to kick-start a mini-revival of bands sounding like early Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, S.O.D. and D.R.I.: “Not really, most young bands who try to play like that just aren't doing it right unfortunately.”
Matthias Mader.