BLACK DOG - DEMO

Roach Leg Records brings us the demo cassette from this band out of Halifax, Canada that features players from other notable bands from that region like Zygome and Fragment. Like a lot of bands Roach Leg has put out, Black Dog worships at Disclose’s no-fi altar, building their songs on the same template of bastardized Discharge riffs, drumbeats, and… well, everything. As with most bands of this ilk, the standard format puts the focus on what’s original, and for me that’s Black Dog’s bizarre guitar sound. It’s low and evil, not recalling any other guitarist’s sound so much as the noise Windows 95 would make when it would lock up from running too many programs. It’s a fitting tone for a band seeking to evoke horror, dread, and helplessness in their music. Black Dog’s demo isn’t for the d-beat dabblers, but as with everything on Roach Leg, there’s something compelling here for those with an ear for it.