Dope's third full-length appears through Recon, an N.Y.C. upstart affiliated with frontman
Edsel Dope through management ties. In addition to producing
Group Therapy, the dreadlocked kingpin directed and/or conceived of videos for each of the album's 13 songs, including them here as DVD add-ons. The bulk of additional content is a nice touch, and should be appreciated by the group's core fan base. And
Group Therapy is much stronger than 2001's flawed
Life. Unfortunately, its overdriven, incessantly processed hard rock sound is still a derivative of industry leaders like
Korn, and largely indistinct from its aggro-metal peers. The formula is familiar. Pounding, hard-charging percussion and rumbling, near atonal guitars are garnished with the occasional electronic flourish to form a base for
Edsel's guttural yawp and rudimentary singing. He utilizes both on the obstinate "I Am," which crosses emotive
Linkin Park-style verses with the double-time chorus shout of "F*ck it, I am what I am." This dirty-mouthed mulishness is typical of
Edsel's lyrical muse, which leans heavily on both the F word and themes common to the genre. Remember "Die MF Die" from
Life? That song's rallying cry here as been recast as "burn motherf*cker, burn." Elsewhere,
Dope grapples with depression, the everyday grind, and haters. But his lyrics reek of insincerity, since their glaring repetition suggests he's only screaming the same old slogans: "Today is the day I will let it go away"; "I got a lot to do I got a lot to do"; "Is this going down...down/Or is it/Para-f*cking-noia?" We've heard this all before, and the ceaseless clutter of aggravated guitars is equally tedious. "Sing" is a bold yet banal attempt at social comment, and the acoustic rocker only exacerbates
Dope's lack of vision, since it's so obviously a plea for radio airplay.
Dope has focused its fiery attack on
Group Therapy, and that should at least get the pit roiling at shows. But
Edsel's agenda is still riddled with cliché, and this fact robs the record of any lasting spark.