Dead Moon - "Destination X"

By Eric Geevers - June '99

This review gives you an impression of the new Dead Moon album.
Or rather my impression of it, cos it's all just my point of view, not objective at all, and references to other Dead Moon songs may not necessarily make sense to others than myself.

I think Dead Moon are fucking awesome. I also think they've made another brilliant album.
As for those who beg to differ on that 'fucking awesome': fine with me, however, you'd better check out this site then.

I've put this review on the website before the album was out, now it's there so you can now point out where I'm wrong...

Now here goes...:

The vinyl test pressing shows that the first song on side one may give a bit of a problem for those who, like me, have an 'automatic turntable': the needle is lowered in the first chord and has to be placed back manually to hear it from the start. I have the same trouble with the 'In The Graveyard' album, and I heard this is not just on my turntable.
OK let's get on with the songs:

Side One:

"Down To The Dogs"
One of the songs that was firmly tested on stage before recording it, and the version here is basically as we remember it from the last tour. The intro is classic Fred Cole, but it suddenly comes to a halt and after an ominous "I'm goin'...", the songs key riff only then sets in. To me, the whole song has a 'Going South' feel to it, with Fred and Toody singing the chorus in screaming unison and with spot-on drumrolls from Andrew. The solo is 'classic F. Cole' too and the outro is a tricky one!

"It's A Long Way To The Top"
Yes, that's straight Aussie rock'n'roll the Dead Moon way! Toody takes the lead vocal here over the monotonous yet hypnotizing riff of this AC/DC song. At times, Toody sounds even remarkably like the late Bon Scott used to, and what might be missing in masculine vocal power is made up for by the intensity (that's guts) of it. In other words: fuck, she's singing AC/DC and she's getting away with it - easily!

"To Nowhere Down"
Although relatively uptempo this is a gentle and melodic song (not necessarily 'rocking out'). No immediate references here, and the song is relatively short with a fade out (so maybe there's a full length version in the vaults, for later release, like with 'Unknown Passage'...? Just guessing here.)

"On Another Plane"
I have always loved songs like 'Out Nine', and this one is in the same 'gives-me-the-shivers' tradition - with another tradition in the arrangement: the taking of turns in lead vocal (like in 'Down The Road'), this time with the final verse sung in harmony. It's also the lyrics that give me the shivers: "It's only time/It's beginning to show/I'm never the same/How does anyone know?", and I think this will grow out to be one of my personal favourites. Besides, I think this songs features the highest note ever hit by Toody (yes: hit, not missed!).

"Bad Case"
The kind of love you can't get rid of, no matter how hard you try, is a theme we know from songs like 'Evil Eye' - but the powerful guitar riff also refers to other midtempo Dead Moon classics like 'Walking On My Grave'. "Somebody says you better start singin' the blues", or in Freds case: scream out the blues. Anger and despair, and all this recorded the way it should be. Like, ehmmm... just in case you wondered: Freds 50th anniversitary celebrational hearing test did not substantially change the recording process! But then again, maybe that hearing test wasn't a bad idea...:

"Raise Up The Dead"
...you see, it helps when a bass riff in an intro is actually heard loud and clear - like it is here. Reminding me of 'Sorrow's Forecast' if only for the intro. The guitar squeezes in a couple of high-end details like in 'Down The Road' but, hey I'm not much of a reviewer here 'cos the whole songs isn't anything like either of these two songs... it's haunting, it's dynamic and I'm sure it works on stage too.

Side Two:

"Rescue"
This song spots the first time that the credits read 'Toody' as far as I know - and it's an uptempo rockin'-out song, in your face, with Toody taking the lead vocal in a 'Running Scared' way I (by name and by nature, so to speak) . This is another song one can even remember from concerts they did way back in 1997, and I for one was hoping it would turn up here. Can't wait to see Andrew go berserk on this one again, I still can't believe he's getting so much dynamics from the drum kit set-up he uses.

"Only Want To Be Your Man"
The basslines and Freds vocals weave melodies aroud the guitar riff that comes with a firm mid-tempo beat - and, well, on the whole that means it's yet another good song, I thought it was pretty short when I first heard it at a concert, but then again... I always end up with my head somewhere in Andrews bass drum so there may be a slight inaccuracy in my memory here. If you want a reference: musically, it reminds me of 'Don't Burn The Fires' in a way.

"As Teardrops Break"
No, this is not about that beautiful Vox 'teardrop' bass guitar Toody plays (although sometimes it takes stage tape to keep that one from breaking down); musically it's a 'Can't Do That'-type of tune but sung by Toody, with Freds guitar doing one of the moodiest, nicest melodic stuff since... hell, this is just very, very beautiful, OK?

"Point Of No Return"
Now here's a reference you'll all agree on: the guitar riff in this song is just like the one on 'It's O.K.' - but with a different bassline and the chorus taking another direction, let's agree that it's another instant classic as well. Andrew builds up tension mainly with bass drum and 'flams' on the snare. He's a technically skillful drummer, oh hell yeah, but one of the things that make him a good drummer is the fact that he can 'say it all' with one or two well-placed drumstrokes instead of impressing the audience with non-stop rolls, breaks and fills (something he could do, too, technically - take it from me).

"Last Train"
An acoustic version of this last track, or at least a sketch of it, can be heard on the CD-ROM version of 'Hard Wired In Ljubljana', and it was on the setlist as early as 1997 as well. The reflecting verse builds up to a desperate chorus... and what you can say about this song goes for the whole album: yes, we may have heard all this before - that's to say: all the ingredients - but like Dead Moon promised us long ago: they "won't change... not like that". Some critices may tell you Dead Moon hasn't grown, or Dead Moon repeats itself... well, that's fine with me! To me this album adds another 10 great Dead Moon originals (plus yet another cool cover) to the list. And to be honest, I think the overall quality in composition makes this one of the finest Dead Moon records to date. Worth the time we had to wait!

Only one question remains... how on earth will you guys squeeze all of these new songs in a set list without leaving out 'old' songs we can't miss? I vote for 'three set shows'!