D-A-D @ MusikZentrum, Hanover 6/12/24

2024-12-09

Probably not gonna be the last time I write about these guys

Those of my international readers who are down with hard rock music on a global scale will know that Denmark's finest purveyors of hard rock music, D-A-D, have recently released their 13th studio album, "Speed of Darkness". Not that a band of their stature would need any justification to hit the road and do what they're best at, namely rocking out with the attitude of anyone whose livelihood depends upon out-rocking.

But hit the road, they have, and rocking out, they are. And if you've ever seen them actively earning aforementioned livelihood, you'll know they've done exactly that – earned it.

In other words – and at any and all risk of spoiling anything up front – Denmark's finest are as good today as they ever were. And while Hanover's 500-person MusikZentrum venue is long sold out and painfully packed to the brim tonight, the attendance, it seems, largely consists of actual fans. Fans wearing the band's t-shirts and who are just plain in on it, as it were. And it makes for an atmosphere that's as welcoming towards D-A-D's versatile selection of rock'n'roll as the band themselves are adept at delivering it.

I'm only putting this photo here because I want it to be the thumbnail pic for the review, and Webnode's shitty system automatically chooses the first picture in the text body even though you set another one as the main picture. If you want a website, don't use Webnode; they're fucking dumb.
I'm only putting this photo here because I want it to be the thumbnail pic for the review, and Webnode's shitty system automatically chooses the first picture in the text body even though you set another one as the main picture. If you want a website, don't use Webnode; they're fucking dumb.

And versatile it is. More than any other band in their broad genre – in- and outside of their humble lil' dab of native soil – D-A-D have spent the last 40 years approaching the entire phenomenon of hard rock music from virtually any angle imaginable. Openers "Jihad" and "Evil Twin", for example, being pure, red-hot dance-on-the-table party anthems, while fellow classics "Grow Or Pay" and "Point of View" are much deeper and more introspective, the former being a moving contemplation on hard-earned life lessons, and the latter featuring some of the band's most uncomfortably relatable lyrics:

I'd like to share your point of view
As long as it's my view too
Can't win on a compromise
I'd rather lose on my own
'Cause I feel kinda good when I'm all alone

And mid-main set, the band honors its charming cow-punk beginnings from when they were called Disneyland After Dark (in case someone's been wondering about that acronym) with the exclusive 5-minute western tale of "Jonnie" and ever-irresistible uptempo banger "Riding With Sue". 2-string bass player Stig Pedersen handles vocal duties for those. And even though his technical skills aren't exactly superlative, you gotta love the man's silver-tinted leather and spandex outfit, wack panda-area mascara job, and, not the least of all, his bass guitars, one designed like a rocket, another like the old Prussian iron cross, another like the back-end of an American vintage car, and another like the band's iconic cow skull mascot Molly. Yes, rock'n'roll may smell weird, but it sure as shit ain't dead.

Here's the one that's designed like a rocket.
Here's the one that's designed like a rocket.

You'd think the songs were different enough as it is. But a coupla old bangers have found their way back into the set, upping the variation even further: The dark, gritty metal of "Reconstrucdead" and the perversely twisted disco of "Monster Philosophy". And all the more so, these are flanking the title track from "Everything Glows" (2000), itself juxtaposing a cold, quiet dreariness and a loud hard rock release of desperation. Indeed, we're dealing with a band here that's as multi-faceted as they're overlooked.

That said, though, their latest album, a bit like the latest LP from Metallica, incidentally, is a bit of a retrospective deal, focusing on virtually naught but the purest of rock itself. And represented by five songs on this tour, it gets a decent welcome. Again, the place is crowded, and the crowd is in on it. As at any other concert in history, of course, nobody's here for some of the new ones. But they do work to a good extent, those new ones.

One element that adds to the entertainment factor is ever-sympathetic lead vocalist/guitarist Jesper Binzer's endearingly insisting on communicating in his best Plattdeutsch: "Diese nach kann mann lernen... das D-A-D hat alte hits. Und wir haben neue hits. Und wir haben... etwas anderes". And with a charming presentation like that, new single "1st, 2nd, and 3rd" shufflingly bounces its way into our collective enjoyment.

And here's that one that's shaped like the iron cross. Undoubtedly popular 'round these parts.
And here's that one that's shaped like the iron cross. Undoubtedly popular 'round these parts.

While the melancholically yearning "The Ghost" is superior to the rest of the new album, also the otherwise harmless "Keep That Mother Down" ends up winning us over. Because the band insists on all of their material. And because of their unmistakable enthusiasm for playing rock'n'roll, having realized that earning that initially mentioned livelihood by doing so is a blessing in this accursed day and age where guitars – if any at all – sound like plastic, and vocals sound like robots.

Shit, they even play that new opener "God Prays To Man" as the first encore. In all its draggingly laid-back unpretentiousness, it doesn't nearly hold up after main set closer "Bad Craziness" – the most tremendously kickass piece of music ever to transcend the Danish borders. But it still rocks. And you can't blame the band for not taking chances.

Of course, however, D-A-D end things on a predictable note after that, their all-time biggest hit "Sleeping My Day Away", as is tradition, slowly moving into a meticulous and hypnotizingly dynamic jam, like a well-executed sexual intercourse. While the stage is too small to fit Stig Pedersen's spark-firing pilot helmet gimmick, otherwise mandatory during performance of this tune, this is still the crowd-pleaser, reaping the biggest applause for many a good reason.

He's also got one that's kinda like an inverted bass guitar where its body is designed like a big head and its head is designed like a small body, and it's so dumb in all its randomness that it's impossible to describe without sounding weird.
He's also got one that's kinda like an inverted bass guitar where its body is designed like a big head and its head is designed like a small body, and it's so dumb in all its randomness that it's impossible to describe without sounding weird.

And while the equally predictable "Laugh n' a 1/2" and "It's After Dark" may have reaped bigger applauses in the band's native country, that spoiled Danish hipster crowd who goes to concerts just to stand around and chat could learn a thing or two from the German fans. Because while D-A-D might not be anyone's favorite band at this place tonight, the German fans still take hard rock as seriously as it deserves. There's a reason why Germany hosts more metal festivals than any other country. (Sure, I just googled it, but I was expecting it.)

It's not the first time I'm seeing D-A-D outside of Denmark, and it most likely won't be the last time. Because, as I wrote in my review of "Speed of Darkness", they don't sound like they're done anytime soon. And after seeing them for this, my 31st or 32nd time (I've lost count), I can testify that they don't look like it, either.

Rating: 5 out of 6

Genre: Hard rock
Date: December 6th, 2024
Venue: MusikZentrum, Hannover, Germany
Organizer: Sun*Day Entertainment

Setlist:

  1. Jihad
  2. Evil Twin
  3. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
  4. Rim of Hell
  5. Point of View
  6. The Ghost
  7. Grow Or Pay
  8. Jonnie
  9. Ridin' With Sue
  10. Speed of Darkness
  11. Keep That Mother Down
  12. Reconstrucdead
  13. Monster Philosophy
  14. Bad Craziness

    Encore:
  15. God Prays To Man
  16. Sleeping My Day Away
  17. Laugh n' a 1/2
  18. It's After Dark
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