Deadlock - Manifesto

... and it seems Deadlock are back with a vengeance. Anyone who listened to the former album, Wolves, should know that this German melodic death metal band can pull off some seriously good stuff in just about every department, and then add a few more with some unusual avant-garde techniques. Well, only expect more from Manifesto.

That's not to say this beats Wolves; the predecessor of this record was outstandingly good and this suffers, as I say, from 'Sacrament syndrome', but it would be fair to say that Deadlock have a great ear for the strengths of their music and giving the listeners more of it. And indeed there's something for everyone: death growls like punches in the face, forever backed up with the melancholic touch of pitch-perfect female vocals in almost every chorus, pacy chugging complimented by lead guitarist Sebastian Reichl incredible high-noted shredding over the top guaranteed to wow any guitarists. Yet there's still more, as Manifesto adds hardcore techno beats (following up on 'End Begins' from Wolves), classical elements with both interludes and a saxophone solo on 'Fire at Will' and, most strangely of all, an entire hip-hop/crunk section in the song 'Deathrace'. While these definitely add an innovative, original edge to the album, there are some parts where you can't help but wonder if the band has gone a little too far, in particular with the rapping. Melodeath and hip-hop? Perhaps there are some genres which simply shouldn't be mixed.

I can't imagine any fan of Wolves or of any particularly unique death metal disliking this a great deal, and if anything it is a good experience hearing the experimentations of a very talented group of musicians. While it lacks the catchiness of Wolves, Manifesto holds its own and I would strongly recommend giving this a buy, or even better doing it all live.

Deadlock - Wolves

Screw you Cockwaddle, this review is MINE. Deadlock's newest album, Wolves, is , in my opinion, by far the best one. Deadlock are a death metal band with techno influences from Germany. Deadlock tend to have the usual thick guitar sound along with a lot of nifty guitar solos, which is pretty cool, and also they use a keyboard a lot, and in songs like “End Begins” they seem to include some sort of rave bit in the middle of the song much to my dismay, however songs like “Loser's Ballet” have actual piano sounding bits in it, which isn't so bad I guess. Still, this album came as quite a surprise to me, as I didn't expect a female vocalist in the songs. Now I know what you're probably thinking : “Fuck, not a WOMAN”, BUT she is actually an amazing vocalist, even more to my surprise. Luckily the female vocalist doesn't do the vocals ALL the time, mostly just during the choruses, and there are sum brutal vocals during the vocals and stuff, and very good brutal vocals at that. But trust me, the brutal vocals and the female vocals TOTALLY work. (Although I heard that she's SHIT live, however, my friend advised me that ALL singers are shit live. Isn't that nice to know....)

The songs are really well composed as well, so you get like awesome verses AND choruses, which is always a good thing. The band itself is just extremely unique, and really, the only disadvantage to the female vocalist is that if you see a picture of her you'll notice she has MASSIVE EYES. So...no, don't think you're gonna be spending a long time wanking over her. It's just not gonna happen I'm sorry. And don't worry, the whole techno or whatever stuff is barely noticeable and isn't even that bad. Except for the bit in the middle of “End Begins”...that's just atrocious

I reckon this album is worth 5/5, because it's awesome and unique, and genuinely worth buying. However it's hard to say what type of people would like the album because originally I would say death metal fans....but the female vocals might put them off that....I don't know. But just give the album a listen, it'll be worth it (“Code Of Honour” is a good song for that).