Album Review: Dub War - “Westgate Under Fire”

 

It always seems to be the way at the end of the year that you end up discovering a bunch of albums that you missed at the time and so it proves again in 2022. This comeback album from Newport metallers Dub War actually hit the shelves in May but flew under our radar at the time.

Anyway, Dub War are probably best remembered for being Benji Webbe's band before he put Skindred together around the turn of the millennium and on this first album for over two decades, it's safe to say that they sound much the same as they ever did ie a righteous mix of dub and metal with vicious political invective snarled over the top by Benji. For the most part it works pretty well (I mean it's better than Skindred's disappointing most recent album Big Tings which is definitely a start) with the vicious likes of Mary Shelley and the cover of Max Romeo's War Inna Babylon packing the requisite punch to get your attention.

Westgate Under Fire is more of a solid album than a spectacular one and not everything here hits the bullseye (Vibes In The Place has plenty of aggro but doesn't really seem to go anywhere) but there's a few standout moments like the stampeding Bite Back and the stabbing riff of Fun Done which serve as a welcome reminder that Benji definitely still has the fire of old in his belly. Mention has to be given as well to the spaced out dub cover of Al Green's Let's Stay Together which could have been a real mis-step but actually serves as a well timed switch in the momentum before the defiant Celtic Cross closes things. Although it's not quite all killer no filler, it's definitely a welcome reminder that although they've been gone for well over two decades, Dub War are still a band with plenty to say here in the bleak climate of 2022.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)