Rock band D-A-D (Disneyland After Dark) marks its 40th anniversary this year and has been celebrating the occasion by keeping itself quite busy, first early this summer with the release of its new hits collection, Greatest Hits: 1984-2024. The celebration continued early this past October with the release of the band’s latest album, Speed of Darkness. The band’s 13th album, it came roughly four years after the release of the band’s then 12th album, A Prayer For the Loud. The 14-strack record is another solid effort from the band, as is evidenced in part through its featured musical arrangements. The lyrical themes that accompany those arrangements make for their own appeal, as does the record’s production. All things considered they make the album one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new rock albums.
Speed of Darkness, the latest offering from D-A-D, is a record that will appeal to any rock and guitar rock purist. That is due in no small part to the musical arrangements that make up its 53-minute run time. From its beginning to its end, the album’s arrangements are pure guitar rock. From blues-based compositions, such as ‘In My Hands,’ and ‘1st, 2nd, and 3rd,’ to the subtle punk leaning of ‘Live By Fire’ and ‘Everything is Gone Now,’ to the more pure guitar rock styling of ‘Keep That Mother Down,’ ‘Waiting is the Way,’ and ‘Crazy Wings’ to even the familiar rock ballad approach of ‘Head Over Heels,’ this album offers something for such a wide range of rock fans. Throughout the record, there are arrangements that exhibit influence of the rock sounds of the late 1980s and early 90s. There are even some points where the band’s work can be compared to works from more modern acts, such as Buckcherry (E.g. ‘Keep That Mother Down’). ‘The Ghost’ is one of those tracks that takes listeners back to the 1980s with its ethereal guitar sound generated through its production. ‘Live By Fire’ meanwhile, is easily comparable to works from various garage punk acts that rose to fame in the early 1990s. Simply put, the arrangements that are featured throughout this record generate a solid foundation for the presentation and give audiences reason enough to take in the album.
The musical arrangements featured throughout Speed of Darkness are only part of what makes the album worth hearing. The lyrical themes that accompany the album make for their own interest. ‘Head Over Heels’ is that classic love song that so many bands add to their albums to flesh out those records. ‘God Prays to Man,’ the album’s opener, changes things up with its sociopolitical commentary of sorts. Front man Jesper Binzer makes that inference clear as he sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “Yeah/I’m looking up to catch/The last days of Eden/Hey/I just want someone to step on the brakes/For everyone right there/We’re astronauts on a sphere/I feel I’m hanging on a thread of a prayer/Yea/We’re born/We can’t really leave/We wish for someone who cares/Who’s maybe not even there/Yeah/What is it we don’t understand/They’re throwing bombs in the holy land/Yeah/Religions are killing/The love that’s missing/We are right at the end of the plan/Now God prays to man/Yeah/’Cause this is the life we belong to/Yeah/the battles we fought for the world/And we know how it hurts/The fighting’s done here on Earth.” This is clearly a sentiment of concern about the state of the world. It is hardly the first time that any band has gone this route, lyrically speaking. To that end, it is a familiar theme delivered in accessible fashion, making for all the more appeal. The commentary continues in the song’s second verse as Binzer addresses what is going on in the medical community with people disbelieving medical science before going on to address the deforestation going on in the Amazon. All of this negativity has God praying to man instead of the other way around because of what man has done. There is a certain sense of anger there in that statement that it has gotten that bad. It further shows the importance of the lyrical themes featured in this record.
As if everything already noted is not enough, the album’s lyrics also reach into the realms of introspection and existentialism (seemingly) in ‘In My Hands.’ Binzer here ruminates on the emotional and mental impact of everything experienced in life, asking , “Are hearts meant to hurt/Just because we live?/Is it all just in my hands?” From there he essentially states he knows things happen for a reason in the song’s second verse, which finds him stating, “I know I’m not a hero the before/But I ain’t supposed to be that anymore/The Earth will turn in seasons/I know it happens for a reason/But I still feel like someone’s turned me off/Yea/I stopped believing/I’ll wait and see if I’m being called/If the universe is all seeing/God knows I’m feeling lost/Is it all just in my hands?” Again here is that existentialist introspection. It is a situation in which so many people have found themselves, too. To that end it is another example of the importance of the album’s lyrical content. When this theme and the others examined are considered alongside the rest of the album’s themes, the whole therein makes the overall lyrical content rest easily on the foundation formed by the album’s musical arrangements.
The overall content featured throughout Speed of Darkness goes a long way toward making the album worth hearing and are not all that audiences have to appreciate. The album’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation. From beginning to end, the vocal and instrumental performances are expertly balanced. The result is that in each song, those separate parts compliment each other so well. No one musician ever overpowers his band mates. The result is a positive aesthetic that gives audiences just as much to appreciate as the album’s overall content. All things considered the production and content featured in Speed of Darkness a successful new offering from D-A-D that any rock and guitar rock purist will appreciate.
Speed of Darkness, the latest album from Disneyland After Dark (D-A-D), is a strong new offering from the veteran rock band. It is a presentation that is certain to appeal to any rock and guitar rock purist. That is due in no small part to the record’s musical arrangements, which offer a certain level of diversity for listeners to enjoy. There is some garage rock leaning at points, some modern radio friendly rock at others and even sounds that reach back to the late 1980s and early 1990s at others still. All things considered the musical arrangements featured throughout this record for a strong foundation for the album. The lyrical themes that accompany those arrangements strengthen the album even more what with their familiarity and accessibility. The record’s production puts the finishing touch to its whole. Each item examined is crucial in its own way to the whole of the album. All things considered they make Speed of Darkness another bright spot for this year’s field of new rock albums.
Speed of Darkness is available now through AFM Records. More information on the album is available along with all of D-A-D’s latest news at:
Website: https://d-a-d.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/d.landafterdark
