Dammaj – Mutiny
Par Records, Roadrunner Records – 1986
Muthas, there are some bands that release one killer LP or
EP, and then fade away into obscurity without ever being heard from again. Some prime examples of this are Witchkiller, Taist of Iron, Dark Age,
Saigon, and Wizz. The best band to only
release one LP is definitely Dammaj
with their 1986 classic, Mutiny. Dammaj
was a California five piece who played tough as nails U.S. power metal which
was loaded with a crushing bottom-end, ripping guitars and the excellent vocals
of Greg Hill. Something unique about the
band was that the guitarists and bassist were all brothers, and that helped make
them tight as all hell. The brothers
really lock down on a groove or riff and exploit it to its fullest.
One other reason why this album is an all time favorite of
The Metal Blog of Metal is the absolutely molten mix. If one didn’t know better, you would think
this was an Ebony Records release because the drums sound like 75mm pack
howitzers, the bass is pounding up front, and the guitars sound like buzzing
ripsaws. Fucking amazing! The engineer
on the album was none other than Jim Morris of the famous Morrisound Studios in
Tampa. Morris and producer Dan Johnson
did a hell of a job honing this album to razor sharpness!
Mutiny was originally
released on Par Records in the U.S. and Roadrunner in Europe, but the album was
only on vinyl and never made it to a CD issue.
Unfortunately, the platter was very difficult to find and, as a result,
was all but forgotten by the world except for a few diehard metalheads. There have been CD
bootlegs of the album floating around for years, but the sound wasn’t the
greatest and the booklet was a joke.
Luckily, Skol Records
has remastered and re-released Mutiny
with five bonus tracks, complete lyrics and a booklet stuffed with photos. In addition
to Skol Records, Blood and Iron Records has released the album on vinyl with
four bonus tracks and a poster. Hell
yes! It’s about damn time Dammaj get the recognition they so
richly deserve.
Mutiny features grinding
guitars, a crushing bass, pounding drums, and the Rhett Forrester-like vocals
of Greg Hill. In fact, Dammaj clearly knew how to mine the
same rich ore that Riot used to
craft their potent brand of Metal. The
band serves up the galloping “Leather Master,” the titanic title cut “Mutiny,”
and the epic “Gladiator.” Frankly, all
the tracks are phenomenal, being both hooky and heavy, which is something many
Metal bands can’t pull off without slipping into complete shit. Check
out this fan made video for the title track below:
As longtime readers of The Metal Blog of Metal will know, we
here are fans of not just the music on an album but the album artwork as
well. Mutiny features a pre-irony age doozy of an album cover with a
pirate hanging from some rigging clutching a guitar. Not just any old guitar, but a guitar that is
either being struck by lightning, or shooting lightning up to Valhalla. Either way, Thor would be thrilled because that
shit is Metal as fuck. When yours
truly got this album way back in ’86, I thought Dammaj was a Florida band because of the pirate, the Morrisound production
and being on Par records like Floridian labelmates Savatage. Pirate trickery
knows no bounds!
You can order Mutiny from Shadow Kingdom Records, or directly from the band through their Facebook page.
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The Bottom Line: Mutiny is an amazing piece of classic U.S. Power Metal and deserves a place in every self-respecting Metalheads' collection. Buy this immediately, and if you are lucky enough to be out on the west coast, catch Dammaj live as they are playing shows again!
As always, MAKE MINE METAL!
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