Dr. Living Dead - Cosmic Conqueror: Quick Album Review

You should go listen to Crush The Sublime Gods.

You don’t have to listen to Dr. Living Dead’s previous album to appreciate this LP, but I just have a feeling that most people who read this have no idea who Dr. Living Dead is. Hailing from Sweden, Dr. Living Dead is one of the only crossover thrash bands to not embarrass themselves trying so hard to be punk and edgy (looking at you Municipal Waste). Crush The Sublime Gods is where Dr. Living Dead made their transition from being “just good” to “fucking really good”, so you could imagine that I’ve been pretty excited to see what else they have in store.

Cosmic Conqueror takes Dr. Living Dead’s sound into a slightly new direction, meaning Cosmic Conqueror is less about stuffing every song with more complex thrash riffs and more focused on tighter punk riffs. It’s a nice change of pace, but this change makes it more apparent than ever that Dr. Living Dead isn’t exactly experienced. Their attempts at sounding both heavy and punky means the band ends up treading some old ground. Some riffs sound like they were lifted from the bridges off of Crush. It should be noted that several tracks do go back to that more complex style, and it becomes more of a welcome change rather a downright show stopper. But the heart of the sound is what’s most important; the band’s in your face “FUCK YOU WE DO WHAT WE WANT” attitude is ever present throughout the album, even if the riffs get a little dry here and there.

The album’s mixing is very solid, with the guitars being an ever present force, a prominent bass, and solid drums. The mixing feels a little more rough and airy than Crush, but I feel it just adds to the overall tone of the LP. It rough chunky guitars add to the DIY feel, and with the album’s themes of cyberpunk dystopia, it gives the album's quieter moments a more tense and eerie feel.

Lyrically, I think the band is still in a bit of a rut. I don’t usually expect much from thrash metal lyrics (usually the cheesier the better) but Dr. Living Dead’s lyrics still remain pretty dry for being about space crime and cosmic horror. That being said, nothing about their lyrics stuck out to me as being aggressively poor, so I guess the point is moot.

I wish I could say more about Cosmic Conqueror but honestly it’s just Dr. Living Dead doing what they do best. It’s not exactly an ambitious record, but it’s a tight package with more than enough to offer for anyone looking for some good crossover thrash.

8/10