Dozer Beyond Colossal Archives

Dozer Interview & Full Album Stream Pt. 6: Beyond Colossal

Posted in Features on February 25th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Dozer‘s fifth and final (to-date) long-player, 2008’s Beyond Colossal (discussed here), has been reissued on Heavy Psych Sounds along with its predecessor, 2005’s Through the Eyes of Heathens (discussed here; also discussed here) and the collection of demos for that album, Vultures (review here; discussed here), first released in 2013 by the band itself. With Beyond Colossal — originally on Small Stone — out again, Heavy Psych Sounds has completed the Dozer catalog, having also overseen new editions of 2002’s Call it Conspiracy (discussed here; also discussed here), 2001’s Madre de Dios (discussed here) and their debut LP, 2000’s In the Tail of a Comet (discussed here).

One does not in the least envy the task that was before the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Fredrik Nordin, guitarist Tommi Holappa, bassist Johan Rockner and then-new-recruit drummer Olle Mårthans. They were coming off their most realized vision yet in Through the Eyes of Heathens and had a desire to push it further, yet the songs still had to feel right to them as players. They still had to be Dozer, and headed toward album five, you can bet there were feelings about what that meant.

As a swansong, Beyond Colossal is almost tragically good. It is nothing less than exactly the album Dozer should’ve made and needed to make, building on the more aggressive stance of its predecessor, holding strong to the basic underlying craft that results in hooks like charging opener “The Flood,” “Exoskeleton (Part II),” as well as “Empire’s End” and “Two Coins for Eyes,” both of which feature Clutch‘s Neil Fallon sitting in on vocals, but also the subdued finish “Bound for Greatness” and the rush between “Message Through the Horses” and the cascading “The Throne,” so much of the record flowing in a way suited to the vinyl treatment it’s been given, but carrying a seemingly unstoppable momentum from front-to-back.

Don’t go calling Beyond Colossal the last Dozer album just yet, apparently. The band posted studio pictures on social media last month and who knows what that might mean. Rockner, in wrapping up this interview series, gives hints of more to come as well. Here’s hoping.

Enjoy, and thanks for reading:

Beyond Colossal Q&A with Johan Rockner

—

On some levels, Beyond Colossal is the most aggressive album Dozer wrote. What was driving the band at this time?

I think we just wanted to move forward. But at the same time, I don’t recall us saying “let’s make a different album”, it just happened.

For me, when you listen to those two last albums, you can hear the development, those two albums kind of work well together. They are not far away from each other, like Madre de Dios and Call it Conspiracy.

I know we really liked the sound of “Big Sky Theory” and “Until Man Exists No More” from THEOH, those songs are dropped in tune. I guess we liked the idea of taking that to the next level.

Tell me about following up Through the Eyes of Heathens. You had Troy Sanders from Mastodon on that record and Neil Fallon from Clutch on this one. How important were their voices to those songs?

Their vocals work really good on those songs, the extra boost, like the perfect spice. The songs are great, but they needed some more beard. :)

The album is a real journey from “The Flood” to “Bound for Greatness,” but “Message Through the Horses” still stands out for its intensity. What do you remember about what you were feeling as these songs came together?

I guess I’d liked the anger, aggressiveness, the intensity and the power of the songs on the album. That we didn’t set a limit or what we could or not. Just put together riffs of darkness and anger into really good, mean songs that are Beyond Colossal.

How do you feel about this being the last Dozer album, your final statement as a band?

Who said that?! But if it is, it’s a hell of a statement.

Anything in particular you’d like to add about Beyond Colossal? Any other standout memories to share about this time in the band?

Good times, great shows and good fun.