Review - Doom

Doom
Corrupt Fucking System

So, my first review of the year, and what better album to kick 2014 off with than a new release by crust legends Doom? Technically, Corrupt Fucking System came out in late 2013, but seeing as it was so late in December, I think it should count as a 2014 album. Doom have been around since the beginning of the crust movement (a long time by punk standards), and if this album is anything to go by, they haven't seen any reason to change their tried-and-tested formula: simple riffs, socio-political rage, and production covered with a layer of dirt about a foot thick.

With song titles like "Apostasy" and "Human Meat," you know what you;re going to get from this record; it's heavy, it's crusty, and it's pissed off. There is absolutely nothing new here, no surprise dubstep passages, no acoustic track. It's Doom doing what Doom do best. And what's wrong with that?

Well, to be honest, quite a bit. The songs are all good in and of themselves, but when you put all fourteen of them together, they get a bit boring. Don;t get me wrong - each track is a blistering adrenaline rush, everything you'd expect from a band of their stature, but there just isn't enough variety here to make it a great album. Any of of these songs would make a fantastic single, but at times it does sound like I've been listening to the same song for half an hour. There's nothing wrong with making every song very similar on a ten-minute EP, but over the course of Corrupt Fucking System's thirty-plus minutes, it gets quite wearying. I love Doom as much as the next man, and I really like each and every song on this album, but...overall, it's just kind of meh.

Rating: 6/10