Germany doesn’t have a shortage of good hardcore bands, but one of my favorite current ones has to be Dogchains. When the demo came out in 2012 I was immediately hooked. Now two years later their 7″ Give / Take is out through Straight & Aler Records, Life to Live Records and Balance Records. And it’s something else.

And I mean that literally, Dogchains sounds quite different than I am used to. Of course I expected some change and progress in their sound after 2 years, but nothing this drastic. By now you might have the impression this is a negative thing, but it’s not, Dogchains sounds bigger and better than ever. They are the modern day answer to Turning Point and/or Supertouch with a more melodic and experimental approach to their classic youth crew influenced sound. The riffs are catchy, the drums are pounding and the bass is as chunky and noticeable as always but there’s more to it all, subtle (and not so subtle) experimentations, original approaches and melodic twists. This is most noticeable in ‘Deceiver’  and ‘Sun’. The change in vocals are a little less subtle and you can really hear it’s more accessible but without losing the rough edge. There’s a certain undeniable LOC vibe in it too and Righteous Jams, Mental and Justice vibes are certainly there. ‘Sun’ almost sounds like a punk rock anthem and wouldn’t be out of place on The Earth Is Flat or Lost My Way (both Supertouch releases). Personal favorites have got to be ‘Telescope’ and ‘Change’ because of the high energy, and they are the closest to the Demo 2012 stuff. Don’t get me wrong, Give / Take is a very good record and a big next step for Dogchains, but the straight up youth crew/LOC thing is a bit more my style.

However, Dogchains still put out a grand piece of hardcore punk jams. They’ve got the best of both worlds with this one I’d say, and you’ve got to admire them for the risk they took and the step they made. It all goes off live as well; their set at Northcote Festival in Dordrecht (NL) was cool from beginning till the end. So if you’re looking for a good record and a nice live experience, I’d say go for Dogchains! For fans of: Supertouch, Turning Point, Righteous Jams, Mental, Justice, Iron Boots, Stop and Think, Jack Move, Mindset, Youth Crew.

Tracklist – Give / Take
1. Intro / C.O.F.
2. Give / Take
3. Deceiver
4. Change
5. Sun
6. Telescope

Dogchains: Facebook / Bandcamp 

Written by Nigel