Deadlock return with a solid mix of metalcore and melodic death metal
German metallers Deadlock follow up 2005’s conceptual Earth.Revolt with Wolves, a solid release cementing female vocalist Sabine Weniger’s membership in the band. Their sound fits somewhere in the gap between metalcore and melodic death metal, similar to bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder and Mors Principium Est. While not an amazingly innovative release, it is a quite enjoyable and relatively diverse release for its genre.
Frontman Johannes Prem has taken on a more saturated, heavy scream than the dry, raspy vocals done in Earth.Revolt. Sabine Weniger’s angelic vocals are also very well done, and appear much more frequently now that she is a permanent member of Deadlock’s line up. Most of the album follows the fast to slow, heavy to soft transitions that have become so common in modern music, although in Wolves the softer parts are more pronounced than regulars of the genre might expect. The guitars adopt a standard metalcore style riffing, and the drums do an applaudable job at keeping rhythm throughout. Variation comes in the form of occasional electronic music influence (such as the interlude in “End Begins”) and several epic sounding orchestral arrangements. In fact, most songs on the album have a symphonic tinge much like those on Earth.Revolt. What stands out most in Wolves is that it works well as a listenable, coherent album, rather than just a collection of songs.
That said, Wolves is not without flaws. The harmonized guitars scream “metalcore” all over, which might not be a bad thing if the particular riffing style wasn’t oversaturated in the current scene. Each song features good riffing on its own that after time blends together, especially the cliché clean choruses. Johannes Prem’s heavy screams are sure to turn some listeners away, although regulars of extreme metal won’t be deterred. Overall, the album won’t have a huge appeal outside of metalcore or melodic death metal; but enthusiasts of the genre will probably want to give Wolves a listen.
| Reviewer: Josh Coppola Added: April 10th 2007 |
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