Looking at the people involved in the making of this, the third Dezperadoz CD, I have to admit I’m surprised that it turned out to be such a dog’s dinner. AFM, for instance, are a label that I have a lot of time for and are, in my opinion, one of the classier purveyors around in the metal scene at the moment. The seemingly omniscient Dennis Ward is on hand to add his magic to the production side of things but to my mind it all sounds a little murky although given the album’s, “Spaghetti Western and gritty metal,” style this is perhaps deliberate. Tom Angelripper from Sodom makes a return to the Dezperadoz fold but only features on one song so even he can’t pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat. 

Rather than go anally through each track I thought I’d illustrate the album's strengths and weaknesses by looking at three key tracks. If we dismiss the short title track as being a mere introduction (and by God I’m sick of those sodding things) then the first song we hear is Hate and I’m fairly confident that the first words we hear are, “Yee Haw Motherfucker.” This is the first of a number of appearances by the oedipal compound noun and as ever, it’s not big and it’s not clever. Perhaps mainman Alex Kraft has been influenced by the TV series Deadwood, I know not but it just sounds silly. Even worse it’s just not a particularly good song and that is the case with far too many of what’s on offer here.  

When Dezperadoz get it right though (which isn’t often) they get it right big time, as in the case of Days of Thunder which is bay far the best song on An Eye for an Eye. It is infuriatingly catchy, it’s got loads of great hooks – it’s just excellent. If only the rest of the record was as good... 

The absolute nadir however is reached by the choice of cover version. Now admittedly I can’t stand The Doors (cue hate mail) but Dezperadoz take what must be considered a classic, namely Riders On The Storm, and make it unbearable. If one is going to do a cover version then one really needs to make the song one’s own as for instance Pagan’s Mind recently did with Hallo Spaceboy or Firewind with Maniac. Dezperadoz just kind of plod their way through it in a deeply uninspiring way. 

There is a message behind the album according to Alex Kraft about religion being the source of violence and evil but by the end of 25 Minutes to Go, you really won’t care.

Let us know your views on An Eye For An Eye

Track Listing

An Eye for an Eye
Hate
Days of Thunder
Wild Bunch
Wild Times
Riders on the Storm
Here Comes the Rain
Give Up
May Heaven Strike Me Down
When the Circus Comes to Town
A Tooth for a Tooth
25 Minutes to Go

Line Up

Alex Kraft – Vocals/Guitar
Alex Weigand – Bass
Markus Kullmann - Drums