VERNI

VERNI     “Dreadful Company”

By Dr. Abner Mality

D.D. Verni is right up there with Geddy Lee, Lemmy and Geezer as one of my favorite bass players. His bass work for OVERKILL is so dominant that sometimes the guitars have to work double time just to keep up. So I looked forward to this new solo album of his with anticipation.

This is sure the HAPPY side of D.D.! I knew he was a punker from way back, so the punk sound here didn’t come to me as a shock. But I was surprised by how bouncy and upbeat this is. This isn’t the really dark or raw punk or hardcore, but something more akin to THE RAMONES. I would fall just short of calling it pop-punk, but not by much. Oddly enough, the bass is not quite as upfront here as it would be for OVERKILL, but the guitars definitely have that metallic OVERKILL bite and that will give some appeal to die-hard fans of the Joisey Boys.

The vocals are as smooth as silk and very chipper indeed. First tune “LUNKHEAD” bounces and perks along with a great singalong chorus. The lyrics are kinda foul mouthed but even that can’t take the cheery shine off. Many of the tracks will follow in this, with “Cemetery Safari” and the brilliantly titled “The Whore With The See Through Shoes” showing that RAMONES-ish snap.

There are some differences to shake things up a bit. The crunchy mid-paced grind of “Wild Horses” is a highlight and we get a decent cover of BTO’s “Takin’ Care of Business”. “Call of the Highway” is a longer tune and ends with a long stretch of almost rockabilly/50’s style guitar work...maybe a bit too long, I think. Some of the later tracks just don’t work as good...”Tears On My Heart” is kinda sappy and final track “Victoria” is where I finally decided I’d had about enough of VERNI’s happy punk.

“Dreadful Company” is a good album to lighten your mood if you’ve listened to too much deathcore or depressive black metal. The sound is crisp and D.D. really sounds like he enjoys the break from thrash metal. Just be aware of what you’re getting into.

M-THEORY AUDIO 

VERNI