1964: Dorian and the Hedonists are the polar opposites of the band who follow them onstage, the Gravediggers – but is there more than simply musical rivalry between them?
Simon Barnard’s evocation of a changing era takes us fifty years back in Dorian’s timeline from the previous episode, indicating the differences in this season of the audios: last time out, they were chronological, and you could hear the changes in Dorian as the years went by. This jumping in and out of his life loses that throughline, but allows us to fill in some of the gaps.
From the start – in which Dorian gets together with some groupies who go further than he’s anticipating – there’s an air of dread about the story, with added mystery when the expected rumble between the Hedonists and the Gravediggers simply fails to happen after their leader, Otto touches Dorian. Answers take some time in coming, as Dorian investigates the Gravediggers and they don’t disappoint when they arrive.
Alexander Vlahos and David Menkin make a good pair of combatants (as well as getting an opportunity to let loose on some vocals), and I hope there’s a loophole that permits Menkin to return. Vlahos is chilling as he describes what happens to Otto during his final concert (and delivers the all-important line about how it comes to pass with perfect timing): it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Verdict: A nicely building piece of horror drama. 7/10
Paul Simpson
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