[MUSIC REVIEW] DIRTY PAGANS – Forever High Review (2025)

In what has been a bumper year for heavy music Adelaide’s very own Dirty Pagans may have just released the best hard rock of this year. Forever High is certainly not one of those albums that you listen to once, grunt and then turn onto something else – this is one of those albums that you sit down and savour and then can’t stop listening to.

When you talk to the members of Dirty Pagans they are a bit of a cheeky band. Ask about the intentions of an album and they will give you the modest answer that they are all about capturing some of the catchiest hooks and riffs going around. But take just one listen to Forever High and you quickly realise that beneath all that modesty is a talented group of musicians who have the capacity to deliver an album of sheer brilliance.

From the early strains of track number one – Blood Of Babylon – you know that you are onto something special here. Matty Dee’s guitar playing feels like it is taking you down a long, dark corridor and you find yourself eagerly anticipating what is going to happen next. Then in comes James Russo’s bass and Gareth Brigg’s drums and suddenly you feel like you are being transported to the 1970s – where the hard rock is rough, raw and there to make a point.

Dee’s brilliant guitar work continues on You Will Know My Name – the only thing better are his vocals which come through strongly and with a harsh intent. As he screams “you will know my name” you know he means it and in a world of fake music it is a relief to hear an artist whose convictions come through as strongly as this in their art. The fact that he can sing and play so well means there is a bloody good chance that every Australian rock fan will soon know Matty Dee’s name anyway.

Early on with Killer In The Night it is Brigg’s drumming that comes to the fore but soon Dee’s catchy vocals draw the listener in and once the crazy mid-song instrumental piece kicks in it not only makes the track memorable but also reminds you that as a whole Dirty Pagans are some of the most talented musicians going around at the moment.

DTM has a different vibe but the tracks builds and builds until a band’s epic rock sound once again shines through while that 1970s vibe returns in the early distorted parts of I Am The One. Both tracks again deliver epic instrumental parts with the latter proving to be one of the best tracks on the album… as well as being a brilliant choice for the band to close gigs with. If I Am The One doesn’t blow away a live audience nothing ever will.

There is another vocal shift on the album with Moranna with Dee easily capturing the sound of Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath days. From there the listener is taken into Big City Dead In The Eyes which is laced with dirty instrumentals and a sweet slowed down guitar part that introduces a bluesy side to Dirty Pagans.

The album then closes with the title track – Forever High – a track that once again shows that Dirty Pagans are a band in perfect unison with each other. With stunning vocals throughout the track closes with sweet cries of “forever high, forever high” which are a perfect finale for such a great album.

I’m not sure that I expected this album to be as good as it is. Somehow Dirty Pagans have managed to capture a perfect 1970s hard rock sound while still remaining as modern and brash as they need to be to make the album work in 2025. This is a stunning album that needs to be lapped up by hard rock fans far and wide.

Review by Dave Griffiths