Dominanz
Noxious

Norwegian extreme metallers Dominanz are back with their second album, actually they have been back since late 2014 but it is having a wider release now with a bigger label and better promotion. We reviewed their first album As I Shine in 2011 and was not overly impressed, it was good but didn’t quite reach all the way. This one seems inspired by a Spanish film, at least if we look at the cover art. But now let us look at what Dominanz has to offer us with their latest effort called Noxious, is it a noxious album or is it worth lending an ear?

Musically it is more or less the same as the debut album from 2011, the tempo isn’t particularly high, and it is extreme metal with growled vocals, some clean vocals and a fairly dark mood. I think it isn’t the heaviest album out there and some might argue that it sounds a little too polished. It has relatively good depth and variation and it last for the entire time the nine tracks are playing, I think that we can conclude that this is a very solid production. But a solid production is one thing; it needs really strong songs as well.

Let me wait a little on the quality of the songs and state that the overall quality of the album is good; it is a solid effort that works quite well from start to end. The songs are relatively good, the mood is relatively interesting and the album has a relatively good depth. The problem is that when one starts using the word relatively or things like that, it usually means that the album really isn’t much more that a good effort. It is hardly something that stand out in the legions of bands that have already released albums to the world, it is a good album to listen to for a while but hardly one that remain in your memory bank as one of those great albums you have heard. Dominanz does well enough but in all honesty that isn’t really good enough.

If you liked what Dominanz did with As I Shine you will most likely find this album as good as that is really what it is, there isn’t really any difference at all between the two Dominanz albums released to date. I think it is a bit too cautious stylistically and all the songs fit within the frame with none standing out in any direction. I would describe this as a rather good album but they need to do more if they want to impress this reviewer.

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