French Metal Friday: Dygitals-Dynamite

Mausoleum Records
2015

First formed in 1984 by vocalist Hervé Traisnel, Dygitals is a French hard rock/heavy metal that was originally active until 1990 or so with their last release during that initial time period appearing in the form of a 5-track demo. That special event took place in 1987 all but assuring this band's well-established link between the past and the present. Now reformed (and as slick as ever!) and with original members David Dugaro (guitar) and Alain Clouet (drums) also in the fold, Dygitals will release this brand new 10-track album on May 5 in North America and on May 21 in Europe. And it's all thanks to the awesome folks over at  Mausoleum Records. This energetic and enthusiastic hard rocking band (which also features bassist Jack Gayffier and guitarist Jean-Marc Lavayssiere in it's current line-up) is most certainly a sight for sore eyes especially as they are no strangers when it comes to my ears! Thanks to the nifty 1985 "French Connection" split that they did with Steel Angel, Vytal and Yuggs and the inclusion of their great song "Stars Of Life" on the 2CD compilation "Revolution Hard-Rock" I was already somewhat familiar with Dygitals. I knew the score when it came these French metal rockers. Or at least I thought I did. Having just recently acquired a great deal more of their music (including 2012's excellent "Avé..."* which I've had a copy of for some time now) I can honestly tell you there was much more to the picture than I first thought possible when it came to this French act and the French metal community in general! After being away from the scene for a total of 19 years (!) these guys proved had tons of magic up their sleeves on the highly-related and highly-recommend "Avé..." so needless to say I was madly anxious for the release of "Dynamite"! When it comes to this lot and this (likely to knock your socks off!) new album let's just say they did not disappoint!

The highly-regarded Hervé Traisnel packs a real wallop on "Dynamite" while his fellow bandmates crank out the kind of high-energy heavy metal that used to rule rock and roll radio way back in the day and has been sorely missed! That's not to say this French band is retro or that their music is old and dated. Far from it! An album like "Dynamite" gives us even more reason to love good old fashioned heavy metal especially seeing as this band likes to emphasis the ROCK part of hard rock! This cult French metal act offers up a list of influences** a mile long the on their official Facebook page and fairly enough their sound has been compared to every one from AC/DC to Accept and even Quiet Riot to Iron Maiden! But, that's just what makes this French heavy metal act so much fun! Dygitals is everything you love about hard rock and traditional heavy metal only better! Occasionally bluesy around the edges, "Dynamite", which is indecently enough the band's fourth full length album and second since the band came back together in 2009, is commercial enough to appear on the radio and yet the band's new album is most definitely a metal platter for those of us who still hunger for the real thing! Produced, engineered and mixed by Didier Chesneau at MII Recording Studio in Forainvillier Dreux in France, "Dynamite" needs to be heard by a much wider audience. Here's hoping then that the disc will do as well here in the U.S. as it will do in the band's home country where they still retain a loyal following. Granted it's not much, but you can hear a bit of the title track by checking out this video:

*Be sure to check out the spot-on review of this album over at Two Guys Metal Reviews. Fellow bloggers and all around cool friends, Two Guys Metal Reviews is one of my favorite sites and they have turned me onto more great music than I can count!

**AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Accept, Judas Priest, UFO, Scorpions, MSG, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Trust, Warning, Ratt, Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Malmsteen, Van Halen, Y&T, Dio, Foreigner, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Pretty Maids...