DC4 - Volume One

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Rising Sun
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 48:50:00

DC4 was formed back in 1997 by the Duncan brothers: Jeff (Armoured Saint guitarist, lead vocals), Shawn (d), & Matt (b), along with childhood friend Hyland Church (g). The band has previously issued a self-released, critically acclaimed EP titled Mood Swings which brought them a deal with Rising Sun Productions in Germany. Wonderfully produced by Joey Vera (Armoured Saint, Engine) this release should catch the attention of many metal fans world wide.

DC4 play groovy hard rock that sometimes borders on metal with a very modern edge. The music is guitar dominated and both guitarists deliver the goods. In fact the rhythm section is very strong and is complimented by Jeff Duncan's solid mid-ranged vocals. There are some modern elements in both music and vocals thrown in, but don't let that scare you away because this serves its purpose, giving the music an up-to-date and original sound. Knowing the previous work of Jeff Duncan and Joey Vera, I thought the music would be a lot harder than what is presented here, yet it isn't. It is quite hard to label the band as the songs are rather varied in both sound and mood. From the extremely groovy "Playing House," which is by far the best track on this album, to the funky styled ".44," to the slow paced and beautiful melody of "Eyes On You" the variation can both be consider a strength as well as the weak link as you might feel that you never really know where they are going with their music.

I find Volume One to be a 50-50 album consisting of 4-5 strong songs, contained within the first half of the album, whilst the second half falls through and lacks memorable melody-lines with tracks never rising above average quality. The musicianship is strong and if you are into hard rock/metal with a modern twist there should be a lot to appreciate on this album. Still, I feel the band need to work more on writing good melody-lines for the next album. This album is too uneven, with the best tracks at the first half of the CD. With songs like "Playing House" the band definitely know how to write great songs, so for now I consider DC4 to be a promising act with potential as-yet unfulfilled.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]
Tracklisting:
Playing House / Pound Of Flesh / Love Or Misery / .44 / Naïve Bree / Eyes On You / Blind / Jack And Jill / Marianne / Freakshow / 4196

Musicians:
Jeff Duncan - guitars, vocals
Shawn Duncan - drums
Matt Duncan - bass
Hyland Church - guitars

Discography:
Mood Swings (1997)
Volume 1 (2002)

Genre: Melodic Rock-AOR

Origin US

Added: December 11th 2004
Reviewer: Bjørnar Bevolden
Score:
Artist website: www.dc4online.com
Hits: 2721
Language: english