Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Dežurni Krivci
Label: DK Records
Release: 2007
Rating: 4/5
Third studio album, and the first new one in four years. Dežurni krivci, those clattering Soc-combine-harvesters, add their new opus of immoral songs, bottled up in a little vial of deadly poison. It has nothing to do with Alice Cooper, nothing to do with pythons, and nothing to do with killing by constriction. The cover shows the print of a real venomous snake, which means the boys have deftly wriggled out of the noose of knowing their vertebrate zoological taxonomy. Hats off to general education. This album kills with a bite, you see.
Dežurni krivci are bursting with freshness! This is a band delivering an album that still gives you some hope for the general apathy of Slovenian rock creativity (the eruption of one-of-a-kind thrash metal acts aside)! Dežurni krivci are stripped down to the bone. They know no pretending, no illusions, no dreams. What your ears are about to get is genuine rock n’ roll lumberjacking that flattens every template with a bold mix of punkish vocal attitude, short, simple melodic transitions and raw, living riffing. These guys shoot with full balls. This time they put Hannes Jaeckl at the producer’s helm, who also handled production on the current Psycho-Path studio album. The sound picture ripples dynamically throughout, and it doesn’t let up for even a millionth of a second! The key balance is brilliantly laid out in the conversation between the venomously scorching riff, the devalued, angry vocals and the voluminous, thick walking bass line, backed by the thud of the drums, and none of it hides the sparks flying through this album’s potent vibration. Let’s hope the band keeps up at least this level of production quality.
The album opener Shut Up! is, admittedly, suspiciously driven by a post-grunge groove full of melody and sounds commercial (suspicious once again), with real potential to get spun on the airwaves more than once. The massive, heavyweight riffing is often enriched by a prominent, thick bass line that grabs the lead and carries the melody on its own shoulders, and to build on the otherwise uncompromising sharpness of the sound it also uses the rattle of those famous fifths à la Lemmy Kilmister.
There are a few hints that Dežurni krivci, in their genuine rock n’ roll form, know how to sway into stoner rock territory too. One of the first such excursions is conjured up by Freedom Fries, fired up here by a stoned vocal approach. Motorhead on sedatives? Close to the simplicity of QOTSA. A direct shot to the vein that enchants and hypnotizes the ears! Devil Deamon builds on the tendency I just described and, in the boldness of its composition and the authenticity of its expression, it’s a real atmospheric groove treat at a mid-tempo pace, with a melodic bass line that brings extreme drama and atmosphere and acts as a real leveler for the disillusioned vocal approach. A crazy symbiosis. The title track Strup is another one of those gems that pushes the blood through your veins with even more force, and with it the guys confirm that they’re true masters of the minimalist way of weaving Slovenian verses, since the climax they hit literally brings them to life. The shout “Struuuuup”!!!! So simple and so damn effective! One more, please! The right dose of punk, the crushing sharpness of rock riffing, shod with a crazy groove rhythm, gives the album, precisely in the sequence of the triad Moč v senci, Kdo se boji črnega moža? and Killer, a closing execution in the highest gear of dramatic imagery, the one the band’s heart beats for in painting its rock n’ roll vision.
The album “Strup” gallops by at full speed! It’s over in the blink of an eye, thanks to the wit of the composing, guided by the axiom of minimalism and directness, topped with the primal, crushing rock n’ roll power of genuine playing and singing, which is extremely effectively emphasized in the safe bosom of excellent production. The simple verses, in their social criticism, sadden and entertain at once, and so they truly hit the mark with the legacy. “Strup” is a real masterpiece within the framework of rock products of the Republic of Slovenia. Dežurni krivci deserve attention first and foremost from the domestic audience, but they also have great potential to charm audiences abroad and carry their blitzkrieg rock ‘n roll beyond the borders of Slovenia. This is an album that, in the genuine energy of rock n’ roll provocation, never stops unsettling you. The Slovenian rock n’ roll standout of 2007!
I also invite all the curious to sail over to the band’s website as soon as possible and treat yourselves to a full-length download of the album “Strup,” which is available there, win it in the giveaway, or simply buy it at an extremely good price and show your support for the band. At the same time, you’ll see what the official website of every band should look like, which in the case of Dežurni krivci is truly professionally made, something Slovenes in general still sorely lack when it comes to presenting rock products to the public. No two ways about it. We’re still growing. Dežurni krivci can teach us a lot here.
Lineup
Leon Štrakl – vocals, guitar
Marko Čuš – guitar
Tomas Tibaut – bass guitar
Igor Ketiš – drums
Production
Hannes Jaeckl
Track List
1. Shut Up!
2. Wanna Kill
3. Grem
4. Freedom Fries
5. Senca
6. Devil Deamon
7. Strup
8. My Way
9. Črf II
10. Dont Talk To Me! Never!
11. Moč v senci
12. Kdo se boji črnega moža?
13. Killer
Album length: 45.33
