Reviewing Dogma by Dogma

Rating: 8/10

Dogma’s eponymous debut album about nuns rejecting religious repression is probably one of the more interesting ones I’ve come across this year.

Their ‘80s-inspired style of metal, occult Christian imagery, and use of anonymous stage personas bears some similarities to Ghost — except that they (i.e. Dogma) portray themselves as horny, sexually liberated nuns as opposed to demonic, church-controlling priests, which is definitely an upgrade. You can also see this in the album’s cover art,¹ wherein the similarities to some of Ghost’s album covers are also quite apparent.

Dogma is full of catchy heavy metal and arena rock songs with a very infectious kind of energy, no doubt due to their generous use of synths, powerful riffs, and strong pop-leaning melodies. This style is fairly standard for the genre (some might even say iconic, especially considering the clear ’80s influence), but it sounds fresh. Their lead vocalist — known only as Lilith — also definitely contributes to their energetic vibe, as she has a commanding voice that grabs your attention.

I’ve been listening to “Feel The Zeal”, “My First Peak”, “Father I Have Sinned”, “Made Her Mine”, and “Carnal Liberation” on repeat the past couple of weeks (well, it’s actually been a while since I first started writing this review, so that time range isn’t really accurate anymore, but whatever). And yeah, as you’d expect from those titles and the overall theme of the album, the lyrics are filled with all sorts of very creative and amusing innuendos, which really just adds to the fun of it all.

Once you get past the first half of the album though, this playful vibe seems to transition to a somewhat darker, more serious atmosphere — with the exception of “Father I Have Sinned” — that sounds much closer to Ghost in their old days (as opposed to modern Ghost, who definitely have a bigger pop influence in their sound). Which makes sense, since Dogma is apparently a concept album about a novice nun discovering the joys of carnal liberation, and the mood of the music follows the storyline.

For what it’s worth, I definitely think the first half is more more enjoyable than the second, but nevertheless, I’d say the album as a whole is still incredibly fun to listen to.