DOZER — Call It Conspiracy (review)

Album · 2003 · Stoner Metal

5/5 · 2012-05-09
Kingcrimsonprog

Call It Conspiracy is the third full-length album by the Sweedish Stoner/Desert Rock band Dozer, it was released in 2003 and was their first full album on Molten Universe Records.

If you have never heard Dozer before I would highly recommend that you at least try them out. Their style has its roots undeniably in the Stoner/Desert Rock scene, but they also have a very unique and enjoyable style of their own. They are suitable for a lot of Rock and Metal fans from different parts of a certain end of the spectrum. If you find yourself a fan of bands like Monster Magnet, Clutch, Kyuss and QOTSA, Goatsnake, St Vitus, Red Fang, Black Tusk, Mastodon and even High On Fire then you really, really ought to give Dozer a few open-minded listens.

Dozer’s first two albums had shown immense potential and while they were both good, they were ultimately a little too derivative of Kyuss. With this third album, Call It Conspiracy, the band truly found their own sound and made the first of three utterly essential records that modernize and push the boundaries of the Stoner/Desert sound and deliver creative and interesting music that no one else has made before.

Call It Conspiracy has a much more diverse and eclectic feel than other Dozer albums. If their first two albums were ‘fun’ and their fourth and fifth albums sounded ‘Important’ and ‘Dark’ respectively, then this album comes across as enthusiastic, confident and experimental. It was the album on which Fredrik Nordin’s unique and loveable voice really expanded and got its full range, and on which Tommi Holappa’s distinctive and instantly recognizable lead style really got its personality.

On this album, the band really found a voice of their own and weren’t afraid to try new things, they cover a lot of ground and do a great job rooting it all into their core sound. The single ‘Rising’ for example has a sort of Fu Manchu-esque sound glued together with fun drum-rolls, ‘Feel Good Formula’ and the closer ‘Lightning Stalker’ both have a bit of psychedelic influences and eastern flavor but not overwhelmingly so, ‘The Exit’ takes their older sound and updates it with the new vocal and lead guitar direction, ‘Spirit Fury Fire’ is slow and groovy and ‘A Matter Of Time’ almost foreshadows the direction of their classic fourth album, only at about two times the speed.

Overall, Call It Conspiracy is an absolute must-have album for any Dozer fan and an album that any serious fan of rock and metal (especially a fan of any of the aforementioned bands) should at least consider checking out. The one thing I would say is that the album is a grower and an back-heavy album that gets even better towards the end and consequently it can take a few spins to really get to grips with and absorb all the little touches, so give it a fair chance to win you over.

The band would follow up Call It Conspiracy with their perfectly formed masterpiece Through The Eyes Of Heathens in 2006 and then follow that up with the dark and artistic Beyond Colossal in 2008, and if you’ve enjoyed this album then I’d strongly recommend trying those as well.