Dog Eat Dog's
second album
Play Games
improves on the crunching metal, punk, hip-hop and reggae fusions of their debut album by offering a more muscular production and more developed songwriting. With
the Butcher Brothers
behind the boards, the group's sound turns powerful and menacing; when
Robert Musso
produces, their funky rhythms come to the forefront. In addition to the band's own freewheeling musical sensibilities, the album features terrific cameos by
the Beastie Boys
,
RZA
from
the Wu-Tang Clan
and
Ronnie James Dio
. In all, the music on
is so strong, it is surprising that the band isn't among America's most popular metal/punk/funk hybrids. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine