Photo Credit: Troll Toftenes
Norwegian rockers Bokassa have just released their fourth album All Out Of Dreams via Indie Recordings, recorded at Antfarm Studios in Denmark with help from Tue Madsen of Meshuggah fame.
Bokassa have matured well over their four albums and who would have known that the one and only Lars Ullrich was a big fan? In fact such a big fan that Metallica took them on tour in 2019 as support alongside Ghost. You can’t get much more appreciation than that surely.
30 minutes of punk, rock and metal mayhem, All Out Of Dreams gets off to a thrashing start with The Ending Starts Today. The full on drums from Olav Dowkes pave the way for vocalist/guitarist Jørn Kaarstad to play some catchy guitar riffs before exploding with the lyrics “Lets go!” You couldn’t have wished for a more intense start to this album. Next up is Garden Of Heathen, a track featuring Lou Koller from Sick Of It All who shares vocals with Kaarstad, which we were lucky to witness when Bokassa supported Therapy? on their UK tour. The guitar work on this one verges on the metal side with the thought provoking lyrics of “I read my future/That shit looked bleak.”
The title track All Out Of Dreams has a catchy chorus and sounds like there are a lot more than three people playing, showing that the high intensity vocals, guitars and bass work well as the trio play their own version of stoner punk. Aaron Beam of Red Fang collaborates on Bradford Death Squadron which is one of the heavier, guitar-led tracks on the album. Let’s Storm The Capitol looks into the dark day in 2022 when Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to do as the title asks, with Kaarstad screaming “I guess I’ll die here tonight/For a cause I can’t remember.” This song went down well during the band’s shows last year and prove that Bokassa aren’t afraid to tackle subjects that most wouldn’t.
Everyone Falls In The End is only 46 seconds in length but is a good lead in for the next track Gung Ho, in which bass player Bard Linga excels alongside some memorable guitar solos. It’s a standout track on All Out Of Dreams with it’s laid back aesthetics. The pace picks up once again for No More Good Days, allowing all three band members an opportunity to self-express, before the ten-track album reaches an end with the much slower Crush (All Heretics).
All Out Of Dreams is definitely worth a listen. It covers a lot of bases and shows maturity in the band’s songwriting. A special mention must also go to the impressive album artwork, featuring a human standing at the top of a fallen giant, with a red light shining from their cracked open skull. Now we hope Bokassa will land back on UK shores this year to promote the album.
8/10
Standout Tracks: The Ending Starts Today, Let’s Storm The Capitol, Gung Ho
For Fans Of: Therapy?, Red Fang, Clutch
Written by: Alan Brown
