Album: Dog Eat Dog - Walk With Me
Dog Eat Dog is one one of the bands I used to go see whenever they were in my area, back around 1996. It was always a lot of fun, the band's energy always rubbed off on the crowd. I spent half of one of those gigs at the emergency room because the pit was a little too rough. The band always came out to meet their fans after the show, I still have pictures somewhere of me and my friend and the band. Good times. My interest in music changed [i.e. I had a boring boyfriend who didn't want to go to gigs] and I kinda lost track of what Dog Eat Dog was doing. In fact, I thought they didn't exist anymore. Fortunately, I was wrong. They are still very much alive, as this special feature will show you!
Walk With Me is Dog Eat Dog's fifth studio album, released seven(!) years after their last record Amped [1999]. A lot has happened in those years, most importantly a change of labels. The band used to be represented by Roadrunner, but are currently signed to the German label Wanted Records (Vibra). I have always found Dog Eat Dog to be a great band to see live, and was less enthusiastic about their albums. Walk With Me is no exception.
Introducing the true DED-style is Showtime, a catchy song in which the band set out all what they are about: fun, beer and more fun. Undevided is the most serious track of the album and clearly shows how much the band has grown over the past decade. It's a duet with Marta Jandová from German rockband Die Happy, about a difficult relationship. One of my favourite songs is M.I.L.F., short for Mother I'd Like to Fuck, which one of the songs you can listen to on the band's MySpace. It's the fastest track on the album and horribly funny, with a very catchy riff in the chorus. This will do very good during gigs! One of the biggest changes in the sound of Dog Eat Dog is that they dropped the horns as a basic instrument. That doesn't mean horns are banned from this album, as you will hear in title-track Walk With Me. ESB has a lot of raggea influence and is the most laid-back song of this album, together with Summertime, which is the ultimate chill-out track. Walk With Me is a very divers album that will get Dog Eat Dog back on the radio and playing festivals!
Verdict: Though it doesn't contain another monster hit like No Fronts, Walk With Me is the strongest album Dog Eat Dog has made so far! Those years of absence have definitely been good for the development of the band.