Dirty Beloved

Celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, the BWL organizers in conjunction with Radio Rock Cafe set up 3 days of music to close out the 5 day event.

The band headed out to St-Calixte, Que. on August 6 to help kick off the music.  We took the opportunity to do a final road test of some of the tracks that will be on our next CD  and response to the set was fantastic (recording starts early this fall but we’ll be posting more about that soon)!  We cannot wait to get this music out to you all.

Caught some great bands, saw some great bikes and made some new friends.  We had a blast!

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Continued Progress on Third Album

Currently there are 10 tracks being worked on with plans to write another 2 to 4 songs before we hit to studio. The plan is to record everything and then choose what will make the album, most likely 10 or 11 songs. The rest we’ll post on the site for a free download.

One of the new tracks is “The Priests of Hiroshima” which we have debuted at a few of our last shows. This song was one of the first written for the third album and I think defines the general direction of what to expect. It is killer to play live.

I am still working on the best way to intro the song. I have tried a few different ideas, such as a building a roll on the snare to match the phrasing of the guitar, then going into the verse. The second idea, which is what is used currently, is to start the track with some chokes to build the energy and then lock in for the verse. Seems to work, but we’ll get it figured out for the CD. The songs about 4:15 in length.

From a drum point of view it is hard driving all the way through with double kick virtually from start to finish. I get a chance to try some new techniques I have been working as well, such as double stroke rolls with my feet. This song usually plays around 210pbm, so moving for a DB song with double kick to match in the chorus, solo section and end riff.

The guitar for this song is totally driving from start to finish with a riff heavy verse, chorus and bridge section. It features some incredible vocals, with a 100 word a min vocal flash in the pre-chorus (with some great backing vocals) and some great harmonies over the bridge. Of course no DB song is complete with a killer lock between drums and bass and this song has it, seen certainly in the solo section.

To give you an idea of what it sounds like a comment was made at a recent show indicating it is in the same vein as “Painkiller” by Judas Priest.

Definitely fun to practice and play live.

I hope this to be the start of a weekly entry on all the new material for the third album. Each week we’ll talk about the structure and background on one of the new songs being worked on, maybe even post a demo of it for you to check out.

As we are getting ready to head back into the studio, we figured it’s a good time for Mike to take a moment and share some of his prep. Here he is warming up his guitar chops by going through different modes. Disclaimer: Mike openly admits he has no idea how to play neo-classical. Enjoy!

"Letters From A Broken Home" takes a heavier slant than most, choosing to focus on the darker exploration of inner conflict and frustration surrounding recent world events. Musically, Armin’s vocals express these concepts using diverse deliveries ranging from unsettled intimacy to outright rage reminiscent of the styling of Chris Cornell during his days with Soundgarden or recent UK comeback Kings, RATM. Mike’s guitar sets the tone with a series of technical riffs to perfectly underscore Armin’s singing. The result of this combined effort is a progressive hard rock album. It starts with an explosion and expands outwards throughout the rest of the album right from the first song ’Blind Eye Of God’, an aggressive and frenetic opener, choc full of power and raw emotion. ‘You let Me Drown’ is another bombastic effort, part Pearl Jam, Alter Bridge, with a Vai styled solo with prod tendencies thrown in for good measure. To be honest the pace hardly ever falters from being a high octane energy ride. Bass and drums don’t let the pace drop for a single second, and DB would be a sight to behold in the live arena if they can keep this high speed assault.

Dirty Beloved know how to rock, and deserve to take all the plaudits their music attracts. A highlight is the mega and catchy ‘Homebound’. Honestly, all of it is good, and this album deserves to be listened to. After repeated listens (its why my review is being submitted late) I pick up something different from each and every passing play.

One for my faves of the year. And it will still be in with a shout come December, and beyond. A crackin’ release from this talented bunch. Highly recommended

11/13

Paul Chesworth

Link to reviewer site

DIRTY BELOVED

LETTERS FROM A BROKEN HOME

(SPUDBOT)

Looking for a heavy rock album that will shake you by the throat from the opening bars and refuse to let go until the last notes die away? Then look no further. Canada’s Dirty Beloved are intense, aggressive and raw with pounding drums throughout some sizzling guitar solos and a skill at crafting their songs that sets the bar high. Slower paced ‘Homebound’ loses none of the intensity which here Is largely to be found In Armin Kamal’s passion-filled vocals, but it’s a more reflective piece with a solid bass line under pinning it all. ‘I Walk Away’ is an absolute monster, again with great work on the bass and a strong rhythm from the drums and an even faster pace for a real addictive energy filled ride. Don’t let the reflective mid-section fool you, it’s going to blow your head off. Even album closer ‘Star Requiem’, a far more subdued and almost mellow affair for the most part, kicks into overdrive for the choruses, and rounds off an album that will leave you feeling exhausted - it’s impossible not to rock out with Dirty Beloved.

4/5

- Clare Huckett

Black Velvet Issue #63

Link to reviewer

Dirty Beloved - Letters From A Broken Home
(Spudbot – 2009)

Well it’s not often you get a CD that clearly blows you away with its power, aggression and talent. This four piece Canadian band are showing the rest of the world what rock music is about.

Letters From A Broken Home is a masterpiece in its own right, Dirty Beloved have been compared to Soundgarden and Dream Theatre with their musical intensity but I would put them in the class of Creed, Alter Bridge and Boy Hits Car with their power and aggression. This ten track CD rips into the soul like no other modern band, as they pound their way through ‘Blind Eye of God’, ‘You Let Me Down’, ‘Take Good Care’ and the pounding intro to ‘Why Would I’ that reminded me of Mortal Sin-The Curse and Scorpions-Animal Magnetism.

This is a CD that that will be played for a long time to come with the notion that every time I listen, I know I will hear something different that makes Dirty Beloved a band to listen out for in the years to come.

10/10

By Tony Watson

Link to review site

While we’re taking a little break to get some writing done, we figured you might be interested in an interview conducted by our friends at I’m With The Band.tv that lead up to our 2009 release.

embedded by Embedded Video

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DIRTY BELOVED ‘LETTERS FROM A BROKEN HOME’ (SPUDBOT RECORDS/TSM/SLW PROMOTIONS)

December 2009

DIRTY BELOVED is a Canadian band playing 90s influenced Grunge Rock a la SOUNDGARDEN with some modern Rock and a lot of Prog Metal riffs mixed into their style. 10 songs are on their CD ‘Letters from a broken home’ and although it sounds very professional it is not really interesting for the ‘melodic’ fans, because it all sounds pretty raw and as mentioned ‘grungy’. Fans of ALICE IN CHAINS, SOUNDGARDEN and such will definitely like this a lot, then go to: www.dirtybeloved.com

(Points: 7.9 out of 10)

Gabor Kleinbloesem

Link to review site

It just seems like only a few weeks ago we were issuing our release for Letters From A Broken Home and here we find ourselves at the close of 2009.  From transit strike to H1N1 pandemic to global recession.  What a year it’s been!

Challenges aside, the band emerged from the studio after a winter of recording in May for the CD release and enjoyed a busy schedule promoting the effort up to the last show of the year on Dec. 9 @ The Rainbow.  The year has held many highlights including a number of positive reviews of the CD both at home and abroad, radio play in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, a show at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario where such greats as the Rolling Stones have previously graced the stage and opening for 70’s rockers Prism at the Ottawa Exhibition in front of an estimated 2000+ people.

While we’re taking a moment to reflect on the year, we are also eagerly looking ahead to 2010.  A fair amount of writing has taken place as the year progressed and we now find ourselves getting ready to return to the studio.  Those who were at the Nov. 7 or Dec. 9 show will have already received a preview of one of the new tracks.  If you missed either of those shows, don’t fret.  At the rate the songs are coming together, we’re anticipating a release sometime late spring.  Who knows, we may even release some preview tracks ahead of time.  Come back and check the site often or hook up with us on Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace to keep up on the latest news and events.

Until then friends, wishing you the best in 2010.

Happy New Year!

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