Dukatalon
Saved By Fear

March 2011
Released: 2010, Relapse Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

I was quite surprised hearing that Dukatalon are all the way from Israel and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at first, but I have to say this album is awesome! Following from their EP release in 2007, this shows I need to be paying more attention to the metal scene in the Middle East! It’s thanks to Relapse Records for bringing this album to everyone’s attention.



Dukatalon's genre is sludge metal with sheer heaviness throughout. With great guitar riffs and brutal drumming, this album got my attention from the start. Growling vocals, starting with fast brutal tracks, then slowing down the tempo with tracks such as ‘ZX’ this is an easy album to follow. The track ‘Saved By Fear’ has a very light guitar intro which takes the album to a new direction which I like, breaking up the album nicely, until they change the pace again into another heavier direction, followed by the deeper heavier track of ‘Electric Site’ being the longest track on the album of over 9 minutes long.



The only criticism I have is that some of the vocals seem to get lost in the background and seem to be over-shadowed by the strong guitar riffs, but this is down to slightly poor production. Dukatalon are definitely a band you need to check out, although not the most original sounding band in this genre, they will definitely be a benefit for any metal lovers collection, especially if you’re into the heavier sludge side of metal.



It makes me wonder what else will be released from the Middle East!



Jo Blackened