Dusteroid ‘Tyrannosonor’ CD 2010

If you were to enter “ultimate stoner rock band name” into Google, there’s a high chance Dusteroid would come out. The very name reeks of fat riffs and a cloud of weed smoke!!!! Pretty much Dusteroid do exactly what it says on the tin.

The band itself has been in existence since 2001 playing on the fringes of the stoner/doom scene in London but it’s the current line-up of Blane on vocals and guitar, TJay on bass and Sammy on drums that is set to make the biggest splash with this release.

The first thing that hits you is the packaging. These guys mean business and are out to impress!!! A multi panel fold out cardboard sleeve complete with custom artwork of a flaming asteroid (the Dusteroid???) causing havoc on the streets of London not only shows the band’s commitment to professionalism but also acts as a metaphor for the badass riff-fest contained inside!!! This immediately takes this from demo land to pro release.

Fancy packaging is great though but only works if the music stands up and Dusteroid deliver in spades. Entirely self produced by the band in their rehearsal space, the recording quality makes a mockery of most pro studio output. This sounds fantastic, although the mix could have been a little kinder to TJay’s bass, the drums guitars and vocals are as good as anything you will have heard released on Small Stone, Rise Above…etc in the last couple of years. Musically this forges a path right through stoner territory coming across with a distinct, C.O.C/Down/Alabama Thunderpussy kind of vibe…all fat riffs, gruff vocals (with a hint of Anselmo), thundering drums and meandering bass. Fair enough this may not be the most original set of tunes you’ll ever hear but I don’t think the band ever intended it to be that way, they just set out to write a kick ass set of tunes and play the shit out of them…job done. There are enough little rhythmic twists and turns to keep the listener…and drummer Sammy on their toes. “Whiskey Overdose” breaks down to a lovely jazzy interlude of the kind that served Sabbath well through 6 sets a night in the Hamburg clubs while The Rolling Head is all air punching, hairy chested rock that should be listened to with a beer in hand and a sweat on the brow…nice cowbell workout as well. In 8 tracks there is only one weaker moment, “Imprisonment” doesn’t quite cut the mustard as it heads into more chug by numbers metal territory with too many rhythmic trip-ups to maintain the flow and groove of the song. Not a terrible track but the remaining 7 songs show the band have better up their sleeve, especially on final track “Dusty Road” which blasts along with a punky, good time Orange Goblin vibe.

Dusteroid have maintained too low a profile for too long so hopefully this release will see an end to that…these guys should be the first port of call for any promoter wanting a local support for touring Yank or Swedish bands in London. Hopefully on the back of this the rest of the country may get to taste some dust.

Label: Self Released
Website: www.myspace.com/dusteroid

Scribed by: Ollie Stygall