Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 05:02 PM by Nikos Nakos
“DCLXVI: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth” is the fourth album of the Swedish gods Entombed, recorded in the summer of 1996 and issued in early 1997. By the album’s cover it was already made clear that Entombed would attempt to do something far from the common, in the death metal genre, and this was also obvious in their sound, which was full of rock’n’roll sounds (a mix of Motorhead with punk). This different musical approach began in the LP “Wolverine Blues” back in 1993 and later on was baptized as Death ’N’ Roll and the band created great albums in the years to come working in this pattern. In the front cover, which features a statuette of the Aztec god Mictlantecuhtli. the participants in the making of the album were presented like on a cinema poster. The LP received mixed critics and divided the metal fans and the music press at that time, but nonetheless it was successful even in countries where metal in general (let alone death metal) was practically dead and I am referring specifically to England. Metal Hammer magazine (U.K.’s edition) proclaimed the album second best of the year 1997. For the record, we must mention that Feeder’s “Polythene”, a grunge album, was voted 1997’s best album and that pretty much gives an idea about the conditions in England’s metal scene. We shouldn’t laugh though because next year Greek Metal Hammer voted for album of the year (1998) Anathema’s “Alternative 4’, while Entombed’s next work “Same Difference” at the same year didn’t seem to be doing any better (though I personally like this record). Musically, it’s following Wolverine Blues with the Punk, Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll influences that are present, without disregarding the Death metal elements, obviously. I could say that this album is more like a statement of the Swedish band “Don’t take your selves too serious (our selves too). Enjoy it, have fun, party”. It’s also an “ode” to their interests/hobbies: sci-fi, books, b-movies, comics and rock n roll. Ahead of their time, they combined assorted elements, mixed and matched them perfectly and as an album it was the harbinger of the crossover style, where bands experimented with subgenres in such a way, that they were successful without being labeled as sell-outs or outcasts. The way the album starts, it’s impressive. The self-titled track is very catchy and as groovy as it takes to make those that were nagging for “Wolverine Blues” swift of sound, to bang their heads. The next two tracks actually define the sound of the rest of the album. “Like this with the Devil” and “Lights Out” mark that Entombed are now a group similar to Corrosion of Conformity rather that Nihilist. “Damn Deal Done” that is based on Scorsese’s all-time classic movie “Taxi Driver”, along with “Like This With The Devil”, “Lights Out”, “Parasight”, “Wreckage” and the self-titled, are setting the bar high. The overall result, even with all this time passing by, vindicated Entombed and anyone that believed that there was hope after Nicke Andersson. A negative thing, and also tiring, is that the album has 14 songs, that it’s dragging the length of the album a bit too much. The album got its name from the book “To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth”. “To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth” by Jeff Cooper is a collection of Cooper’s work on various themes, from home defense and shooting techniques to more abstract subjects such as architecture and nuclear war. John Dean “Jeff” Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) was a United States Marine and the creator of what is known as “the Modern Technique” of handgun shooting, and one of the 20th century’s foremost international experts on the use and history of small arms. DCLXV means 666 in Latin. Rotting Christ did something similar with the 2000 album ΧΞΣ. The song “To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth” was included in the first “Tony Hawks Underground” videogame, while Candlemass covered it in a split single with Entombed celebrating the 100 issues of the Swedish magazine Sweden Rock. Two videoclips were shot for the songs “Damn Deal Done” and “Wreckage”, with the last song giving the name to the kickass band Wreckage from Thessaloniki, who sound pretty much like Entombed.
Entombed’s line up was:
L-G Petrov/Vocals, Piano Nicke Andersson/Drums, Percussion Alex Hellid/Guitars (lead) Ulf “Uffe” Cederlund/Guitars, Handdrill Jörgen Sandström/Bass
