Doyle - II: As We Die album review

Reunited Misfits guitarist gets dead serious on his solo outing

By Natasha Scharf
( Metal Hammer )
published
Cover art for Doyle - II: As We Die album

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In 2013, then-former Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein released his debut album as Doyle. Abominator was a doomy thrash monster that instantly dismissed any assumption Doyle was a one-trick pony. It should have been a double album, but perfectionism struck and the devil-locked musician decided to hold the second disc back. Until now. As We Die, however, is not a collection of outtakes. Harder and heavier than the classic Danzig-era Misfits, this 13-track recording is bold, brash and punctuated with chunky Sabbath-esque riffs, not to mention hints of early Metallica and Pantera. Full-on opener Kiss As We Die could have been on Avenged Sevenfold’s City Of Evil and the stompy Virgin Sacrifice takes inspiration from Marilyn Manson’s Dope Hat. Although not horror punk, there are plenty of macabre references that fans can really sink their fangs into, not least on the Misfits-esque Witchcraft and We Belong Dead, with a heavy helping of hardcore to balance out those playful elements. As We Die will challenge everything you think you know about Doyle.

Natasha Scharf
Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.