Dub Trio Another Sound Is Dying CD

Dubtrio/Dub Trio: DP Holmes (guitar); Stu "Bassie" Brooks (bass guitar); Joe Tomino (drum).
Personnel: Mike Patton (vocals); Joe Tomino (drums).
Audio Mixer: Joel Hamilton .
Recording information: Studio Metronome, NH.
Inspired equally by metal and classic dub, Dub Trio combines its influences in novel and exhilarating ways. ANOTHER SOUND IS DYING, the trio's third studio outing, continues the heavy instrumental explorations of earlier efforts, pushing the musicians' progressive tendencies and packing even more of a punch. The technical prowess of bassist Stu Brooks, drummer Joe Tomino, and guitarist D.P. Holmes is on full display from the skull-crushing opener, "Not for Nothing," to the herky-jerky pummel of "Funishment." Experimental rock icon Mike Patton makes a star cameo on vocals, but it's the collaborative muscle of the core trio that makes ANOTHER SOUND IS DYING such a consistent treat. The album comes recommended to all fans of experimental metal.
Dub Trio's name is somewhat misleading. The group's music owes relatively little to Lee Perry, Scientist, or King Tubby; instead, they play hard rock in the vein of Helmet or even Shellac, only instrumental. But they do take dub techniques and apply them to their metallic riffs and thunderous bass, which is what vaults their music out of the pack. Reverb, echo, and disorienting panning effects are integral parts of the mix on this, Dub Trio's third studio album. Midway through opening track, "Not for Nothing," an almost Sabbathian riff is underpinned by drums that crack and boom like they've been sampled from Burning Spear's Garvey's Ghost, and space-age zaps adorn the margins of the mix even as the guitar solo spins out into the stratosphere. "Jog On" puts a scorching riff atop a drum pattern that's straight outta the dancehall, bass booms and all; "Who Wants to Die?" combines Page Hamilton-esque crunch with echoey, psychedelic accents that are pure Black Ark. The only track to feature vocals is "No Flag," and they come courtesy of Mike Patton, who's emerged as something of a patron to Dub Trio. He also contributed to one song on their previous studio disc, 2006's New Heavy; they were the backing band when he toured behind his "mutant pop" album Peeping Tom; and this disc is on his Ipecac label (all previous DT discs were on reggae/punk imprint ROIR). The change of label hasn't altered the group's approach, which makes this both a solid introduction to Dub Trio for newcomers and a welcome continuation of their journey into the space between metal and dub for existing fans. ~ Phil FreemanAlternative Press (p.156) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's a magnetic quality to 'Mortar Dub' that simply cannot be ignored....[They are] indeed giving birth to a stirring new noise."
Global Rhythm (Publication) (p.46) - "Dub Trio come on like a slightly Rasta-influenced Helmet, spitting out precision, math-y riffing when they're not dialing everything back into nearly legit old-school dub."