(Photo by Nia Garza)
Evolving from the burgeoning East Coast pop punk resurrection of the band Bad Luck, the brothers Brothers Dominick and Joseph Fox had aspirations of venturing into a much heavier sound and more weighty subject matter.
Making 2020 the year they fully pursued their creative vision, the hardcore/metal amalgam of D.O.G. forged it's potent introduction with the release of the Mental Destroyer EP. The six-track effort combined the Fox brothers knack for aggression with a much more metallic presentation - a molotov of energy and angst that fused the best of both worlds together in a gut-check of a release - an ideal soundtrack for the pit.
Though armed with a arsenal of new tracks that were certain to lay waste to unsuspecting fans across their region, the band was sidelined due to Covid and forced to wait ti unleash their brand of combustion until the world rotated back to some sense of normalcy.
As with the release of their introductory Mental Destroyer EP, D.O.G.'s political posturing and keen sense of cultural climate awareness make for an insightful collection of angst that presents a snapshot of the socio-political environment. The band's latest EP, Anti, follows suit in delving into a confrontational examination of weighty topics ranging from white supremacy and police brutality to political hypocrisy and the advancement of humans rights.
The first dose of reality packaged in Anti is the biting social commentary of "In Memoriam". A scathing lambast of the passive, almost dismissive cliché of "thoughts and prayers" the band make it clear in how fed up they are with the programed response to such turmoil and tragedy.
Vocallist Dominick Fox explains, “In Memoriam is a track that’s about ‘thoughts and prayers’ not being enough of a response or solution to continuous and repeated murder and tragedy at the hands of police and/or government. It’s also our band’s first track to feature clean singing and more of an actual chorus. That’s something we’re planning to experiment more with on future releases so we wanted this song to be a single, not only because of its subject matter, but also as a heads up to listeners how the band is growing musically.”
While Anti asserts the band's social awareness and defiant disposition, D.O.G. makes it clear that their intention is less about politics and more about human emotion. Less concerned with choosing any affiliation or aligned with any party, the intention behind the music is simple - no bulshit.
Anti is currently available for Smartpunk Records - HERE. Watch the KNOTFEST premiere of "In Memoriam" below.
