The debut from Arizona’s Dropout Kings, AudioDope pushes the fusion of nu metal and hip-hop into trap territory in 2018. The band piles on scratches, 808s and rapped flows anchored to fat riffs and metalcore breakdowns. The intent is clear: wed the aggression of modern metal to the trap production of its day, with the energy of a violent party.
The result is raw, often exciting, sometimes uneven. The best tracks, carried by the dual vocals, hit with a genuine sense of hook, but the formula runs out of breath when production tics take over from the songwriting. A daring, generational debut, imperfect yet emblematic of a cross-genre moment then in full ferment.
