Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2025 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
February 2025
- Craig Brooks: Desolation Freeway
- Mantric Momentum: Alienized
- Pattern-Seeking Animals: Friend Of All Creatures
- Crazy Lixx: Thrill Of The Bite
- Ginger Evil: The Way It Burns
- Dream Theater: Parasomnia
- Tyran: Tyran's Oath
- Saber: Lost In Flames
January 2025
- Wildness: Avenger
- The Ferrymen: Iron Will
- Labyrinth: In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye
- Bonfire: Higher Ground
- The Big Deal: Electrified
- Landfall: Wide Open Sky
December 2024
- After Lapse: Pathways
- Illusion Force: Halfana
- Powell-Payne: Voilá
November 2024
- Sunstorm: Restless Fight
- Storace: Crossfire
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
October 2024
- Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
- DGM: Endless
- Daytona: Garder la Flamme
- Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
- Frost*: Life In The Wires
- Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
- Fans Of The Dark: Video
- Radioactive: Reset
- House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
- Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire
Ouijabeard: Die and Let Live
Ouijabeard: Die and Let Live
Heavy Metal
4.0/5.0
Facebook
High Roller Records
by Craig Hartranft, 11.28.2012
Ouijabeard is the side project of Dr. Living Dead vocalist Dr. Ape, and Die and Let Live is quite the departure from the thrash metal of his main gig. This basically early Eighties style melodic heavy metal inspired by, according to Ape, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Kiss's The Elder, though I'm not sure that last one is worth admitting to. Ape also treats some of the history and myths associated with the infamous Russian mystic Grigorij Rasputin.
For this project, excepting guitar solos performed by guest musicians, Ape handled all the instruments. His vocals on Die and Let Live is not the near hardcore style for DLD, but more melodic and clean. Actually, he's a darn good singer.
Die and Let Live is also a rather brief album, clocking around 33 minutes, with nearly half the songs less than three minutes long. Nevertheless, Ape delivers some solid traditional, sometimes speedier, heavy metal. While I can put my finger on the atmosphere, there's an almost stoner or psychedelic feeling to the songs as well. Ape has described the album as a 'space rock opera,' and that may also fit the atmosphere. After several spins Ouijabeard reminds me of Corsair, the psychedelic pseudo-prog band from America, which attempts a similar space rock sound. In the end, I found Die and Let Live to be quite surprising and very entertaining. Best picks: Signs of Moreia, Curse of the Stones, Keep the Streets Empty for Me, and the longest track, Die and Let Live. Recommended.
Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.
TweetIn Short
Ouijabeard's Die and Let Live is a surprisingly entertaining album of classic heavy metal with more than a little psychedelic or space rock feel.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
By now it's old news. Everybody in the prog universe knows: Dream Theater got the band back together. Drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy returned to his Dream Theater family to celebrate their 40th ... [ Read More ]