THEORY OF A DEADMAN

Dinosaur

Roadrunner

8.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Dinosaur
02. Medusa (Stone)
03. Sick
04. Two Of Us (Stuck)
05. Ambulance
06. Sideways
07. Get In Line
08. Head In The Clouds
09. Hearts Too Wild
10. Summer Song

THEORY OF A DEADMAN came onto the scene in 2002 with their self-titled debut, a Chad Kroeger-produced set of guitar-driven post-grunge that played perfectly for the times. Things really got rolling for the Canadian rock band a few years later, when hits such as "Santa Monica", "So Happy", "By the Way" and "Bad Girlfriend" took off.

At the heart of THEORY OF A DEADMAN's success was always a party-happy style. Songs such as "Bad Girlfriend" play to the BUCKCHERRY and SAVING ABEL contingent, with wild lyrics about girls gone wild and late-night antics. While THEORY OF A DEADMAN moved away from that sound on their latest album, 2020's serious and socially conscious "Say Nothing", classic fans can celebrate the return of fun-times THEORY on the band's new record, "Dinosaur".

The album starts off with title track "Dinosaur" offering huge guitar riffs, groovy rhythms and a slight twang. This is classic THEORY, with straight-ahead riff rock and a "Hate My Life" kind of theme. "Medusa (Stone)" is the "Bad Girlfriend" of the set, with Connolly singing about a girl who uses and abuses him, gets him popping pills and turns him into a bad boy — but he keeps going back for more. "Sick" is musically very different for THEORY, with alternative rock leanings and a warm, WEEZER-esque chorus.

"Ambulance" is an interesting one, with big rock guitars and Connolly doing a kind of rap-rock, but more Anthony Kiedis than Fred Durst. This song takes on an almost funk-rock character, as Connolly rhymes about going out on a Friday night and partying it up. "Sideways" brings some freshness and variety to "Dinosaur", with its piano-driven character.

Elsewhere, "Get In Line" is a hard-hitting rocker, with sharp guitars and big rock hooks. "Head in the Clouds" and "Hearts Too Wild" truly sound like country ballads, with their warm, twangy choruses, storytelling lyrics and dreamy vocals. The album ends with another "Bad Girlfriend"-type song called "Summer Song". It's not a summer song, but instead, a song about a girl named Summer who is something of a bad influence on Connolly.

While THEORY OF A DEADMAN return to their thematic party roots here, musically, they dabble in country and even funk rock, which makes this a different set for them. The fact they're evolving 20 years in is refreshing, even if they shine most on the traditional.

Author: Dom Lawson

Prev More Reviews Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).