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D.O.A. - We Come In Peace

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    Ian Jane
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  • D.O.A. - We Come In Peace

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    D.O.A. - We Come In Peace

    Released by:
    Sudden Death Records
    Released on: July 31, 2012.

    Purchase From Amazon


    For a band that has been around for almost forty years, Vancouver B.C.'s seemingly immortal D.O.A. has still got it going on. Joey 'Shithead' Keithley and company (the company this time around being Dirty Dan Sedan on bass and Jesse Pinner on drums with Kiethley handling lead guitar and vocal duties) are still out to poke and prod at right wing politicians and speak out against what they feel to be the many injustices in the world. Kiethley still snarls his way through song after song with an instantly recognizable voice and the band still has their sense of humor about themselves. They've been doing what they've been doing a long time now, call them elder statesmen of punk rock if you like, and by this point in time they've more or less got it down to a science.


    Their last release, Talk - Action = 0, was solid from start to finish, it didn't have a bad song on it and it still gets a lot of replay here at R!S!P! headquarters. We Come In Peace has been made in the same vein, and it's almost as good. Not quite, but almost… and it certainly earns some bonus points for being incredibly topical. The first track, He's Got A Gun, starts off with a blazing guitar before Keithley horks his way into the vocals, taking issue with the Tea Party movement and the frequently ridiculous things that they stand for. You're either with D.O.A. or against them when it comes to politics, they don't mix words or look for middle ground, rather, they call it as they see it and are usually able to do so with a pretty keen eye. The second track, Boneyard (fans of The Headstones will appreciate Hugh Dillon's backing vocals on this track), proves to be much stronger, faster, punchier, catchier and more interesting musically if not lyrically, and the same goes for Dirty Bastards, another solid slice.


    Do You Wanna changes the pace of the album completely, taking an upbeat and mid tempo approach while the re-recording of Bloodied But Unbowed is different but really no better or worse than the version that they recorded for the album of the same name many years ago. It's still a great song, it just has a slightly different style to it here. Bring Out Your Dead and War Hero are both fast and catchy, with War Hero (originally recorded by Toxic Reason) once again returning to politics where the album stays firmly for the next track, We Occupy. Essentially a rallying cry for the occupy movement that started in Zuccoti Park in lower Manhattan, this track is catchy and inspired and features some instantly recognizable vocals from none other than Jello Biafra (who Kiethley has collaborated with more than once in the past). The Man With No Name pays homage to the early western films of Clint Eastwood, most notably the Leone films but also High Plains Drifter, and it has a nice, occasionally slightly gothic, sort of creepy western vibe to it while the cover of The Beatles' Revolution is fast, slightly pissed off and definitely has D.O.A.'s stamp all over it.


    The album closes out with Walk Through This World, which sounds way too much like Bankrobber by The Clash to be an accident. It's a decent track but it borrows very heavily from that earlier song. The album ends on an interesting note with an acoustic version of one of D.O.A.'s most famous songs, General Strike. With union busting having been on the forefront of the American political scene this last year, it only seems appropriate that D.O.A. bring this one back for another round. It's fitting and appropriate and a great way to close it out.


    The complete track listing for We Come In Peace is as follows:


    1. He's Got A Gun / 2. Boneyard / 3. Dirty Bastards / 4. Do You Wanna / 5. We're Bloodied But Unbowed / 6. Bring Out Your Dead / 7. War Hero / 8. We Occupy / 9. Who The Hell Do You Think You Are / 10. Lost Souls / 11. The Man With No Name / 12. Revolution / 13. Walk Through This World / 14. General Strike (Acoustic)


    All in all this is very solid stuff. The band are still tight, the production is right where it needs to be - raw enough to sound like D.O.A. but slick enough to not sound like crap - and the songwriting generally pretty clever. If D.O.A. haven't reinvented their sound or created a completely new identity for themselves this go around, it's because they don't have to. Their sound hasn't gone out of style for close to four decades, and at the same time they continue to remain relevant, important, interesting and a lot of fun to listen to.


    You can check out We Occupy by clicking here.
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