The Side Quest

I thought that this split looked cool enough to check out, seeing as it was made by 2 newish bands in the heavy/power/thrash genre arc, and besides I felt the relatively novel angle of strong Dungeons & Dragons themes might bring something new. I’ve never actually played D&D, although I do love a good board game (Terraforming Mars ftw!) and consider it a minor influence on heavy metal’s art and lyrics over the years. However, these guys have called their albums things like Adventure One and Roll for Your Life, plus this split was named The Side Quest so I guess they are taking it pretty seriously. The groups do not have exactly the same musical approach, with Dungeon Crawl ironically faster and thrasher, while Throne Of Iron do a good job in more classic heavy metal environs.

On first listen I felt Dungeon Crawl may have been too chaotic and speed-happy for their own good, but I’ve come to realize that this kind of hungry riffing and manic pace is tempered with some sweet solos that take more of a breather, like the one at the end of ‘Critical Failure’. I’ve also never played a table game as fast as they probably do, so that reaction may have been down to my wrong expectation. The vocals have a little yell to their typical thrash patterns too, reminding me more of Bonded By Blood than anyone older. For me, the best part of Dungeon Crawl’s side is definitely the lead guitar, which turns up often, although they contribute an introduction to the release in the form of a synth instrumental. These are getting commonplace but I still love them, and here it’s developed pretty well.

This quickfire foil sets up Throne Of Iron for a more relaxed trio of songs, which last noticeably longer than their counterparts’ efforts. These could have been written and recorded in the ‘80s, having both the faraway mystique of that time in the production and also the template of chugging chords, triplets, and clean vocals in the upper registers. The band supposedly got their act together when Mark Shelton of Manilla Road passed away, and that group gives some indication of their epic tendencies, with the distant, strained vocals particularly adding an edge of adventure. Occasionally they veer toward other realms, such as when ‘Gods of Liquid Gold’ picks up a faster power metal drum part (calling it blasting would be generous) despite the continued slow pace of the other musicians.

Though the bands choose slightly different positions in terms of classicism and modernity, they match one another pretty well for ability, with decent basic styles but still a few creases that can be ironed out and more room for creative distinction. In the end, the themes don’t actually come across massively clearly, since neither vocalist can be heard all the time, although I guess someone more familiar with D&D concepts can judge that better than me. Guitars are never a bad thing though, and that’s probably the best element on both sides. In any case, this is a good bit of fun and at less than half an hour proves a satisfying introduction to Dungeon Crawl and Throne Of Iron.