Dogpound make a welcome return after almost two years with their third album, inventively titled “III”. 

For those not familiar with the band, they are a Swedish four piece who play a heavy, hook filled brand of melodic rock. Previous albums, “The Hellbum” and “Night In The Gutter” were both critically acclaimed and I think that will be totally eclipsed this time round. The latest album is certainly the heaviest thus far, but it retains enough melody and catchy choruses to build on the existing fanbase and add a whole lot more besides. Personally I think this takes Dogpound to the next level in terms of their career progression, as this is easily the strongest set of songs I have heard from them so far. 

Vocalist Henrik Andersson is yet another from the Swedish conveyor belt of quality hard rock singers…it must be something in the water over there, for there seems to be a never ending supply of great singers who are populating the melodic rock scene who hail from Scandanavia, and Sweden in particular. 

The album kicks off in fine style with the catchy “My Own Sin” and the equally excellent “Glass Jar”. There’s plenty of harmony vocals and Andersson’s superb delivery over the top, but the guitars, bass and drums are a solid and beefy backdrop which sounds fantastic. 

The album’s production is top notch as well and listening at any sort of “proper” volume really delivers an aural punch which you can feel – I bet they’d be brilliant live, if they could reproduce this type of “big” sound. 

The song quality remains extremely high throughout the album, mixing hugely heavy guitar riffs with massively infectious song arrangements and great sing-a-long type choruses. Just check out the awesome “Dead And Gone” for everything you’d wish for in a melodic rock anthem. 

Andersson shows a full range of vocal ability, seemingly equally at home with out and out rockers as with slower, more emotive tracks. He is the undoubted star in a band full of tremendous talents. His vocals really bring the songs alive. 

In summary, this is a superb album which I heartily recommend to you all. The guys from Dogpound really deserve to receive all the plaudits recently bestowed upon the likes of Starbreaker, Allen/Lande, Leverage and even Gotthard. They have taken massive strides to join the upper echelons of their genre and this album deserves to be huge. It’s certainly jumped straight into my Top 10 of 2007, no mean feat in a year of incredibly strong releases. 

An absolutely essential purchase.