I AM THE INTIMIDATOR creates an incredible and unique heavy metal experience in this self-titled tribute to one of NASCAR’s greatest of all time.
In February 2024, Alaskan metal musician Andrew Stromstad blessed the world’s ears with his newest project, I AM THE INTIMIDATOR. Billing itself on Bandcamp as “A FANTASY BASED REIMAGINING DETAILING THE FINAL DAY OF DALE EARNHARDT’S LIFE” (this album loves its caps-lock), the EP promises one of the most unique concepts in metal music recently.
The question is, however, whether this race car-themed record is actually any good.
For context, Dale Earnhardt, known in his time as “The Intimidator” because of how he drove, was a renowned NASCAR driver who famously died during the 2001 Daytona 500 when his car slammed into the outer barrier of the racetrack. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was also in the race, and found out about his father’s bleak fate after finishing in second place.
The album roars to life in the intro track, “NO REGRETS,” which features a catchy, building guitar riff interspersed with revving engines and voice clips from Dale Earnhardt discussing his racing career, hauntingly foreshadowing the events that outline this album’s concept. From there, the lightning fast “GASOLINE” with its earworm hook and hooping, hollering vocals encapsulate the mad passion of the race, a theme which is maintained over the course of I AM THE INTIMIDATOR. The vocals are a strong point of the album, evoking the feeling of classic heavy metal voices like Metallica’s James Hetfield, as well as delivering a wild and thrilling sound to perfectly compliment the bright guitarwork and consistently headbang-able drumming.
The EP slows slightly over its length as the listener descends into the inky blackness of death and memory alongside Dale, and the wildness and indulgence of tracks like “EAT MY SMOKE,” “I AM THE INTIMIDATOR,” and the closer, “CRYING FROM THE ABYSS,” can make them feel like they run a little too long.
This makes listening to the relatively tight 6-song, 30-minute project feel like a much bigger of an experience, which serves it well, but it also runs the risk of making a full listen feel like a chore.
All in all, this is a fun album; it isn’t a masterpiece of art by any means, but it is still a great ride.
Another interesting point that makes this project stand out is its lyrics. Sometimes hard to discern as Stromstad vocally flies from cleans to classic yells and even to the occasional, and very welcome, full on doom metal growl (best exemplified on the slow chugger “EAT MY SMOKE”), the lyrics contribute a great deal to the grandeur, fantasy, and all-out fun of this record. The poeticism seen at its finest on the album’s back three songs, as the lyrics muse and mourn the suddenness and mystery that surrounds deaths like those of Dale Earnhardt. Beyond moments like this, the lyrics manage to be relentlessly fun at several points. One is compelled to remember the overly serious delivery of the hook on “I AM HERE…NOW,” “I’ll grab a slab of concreate and I’ll cook it up and eat it like a real man!”
All in all, this is a fun album; it isn’t a masterpiece of art by any means, but it is still a great ride. From its concept, overall sound, crazy vocal and instrumental frivolities, and epic cover art of Dale Earnhardt wielding a fantasy sword, you won’t hear any other album quite like I AM THE INTIMIDATOR. This album is perfect for metalheads who don’t need their music to be too face-meltingly extreme, or any fun loving NASCAR fan. Praise Dale!
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