Deadlock – Earth.Revolt (2005)
It was possible to observe the high potential of the band in 2002, when they released their debut album The Arrival. Earth.Revolt was released three years after the debut album. I have not heard such an interesting release in melodic death metal for a long time: there are interesting arrangements with elements of gothic metal and black metal. If we draw an analogy with music played by the Deadlock, it will be a mixture of early In Flames, contemporary Dark Tranquillity, Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. Skillfully balancing between hard guitar moments and melodic accents, the musicians have achieved rather good results. The guitars riffs are performed very technical and solo sound clear and, by the way, it is interesting. Melodies and riffs are quite ordinary, but they are quite appropriate. The main disadvantage of the album is vocals, both female and male. In the first case, the singer does not perform at the appropriate level (I do not like her timbre), but the vocal melodies are not so bad. In the second case, the vocalist is screaming and wheezing. But it is not about every song. Musical mood varies from composition to composition, every song is pretty unique.
The new album Earth.Revolt good performed melodic death, mixed with keys and beautifully flavored with female vocals. There is practically nothing left here from hardcore, except a couple of moments and, perhaps, the vocals. As for the individuality, it is lower compared to The Arrival, but if on that release all the components go one after the other separately, then here they organically reunited, representing a different, whole and new product. The music is excellent, there is a plenty of really beautiful melodies; and yet, it is a pity that we can’t observe a female vocals in the each song. The mood of the authors is expressed in their music. The best composition, in my opinion, is “Awakened By Sirens”. “Kingdom Of The Dead” is very monotonous and boring song. Almost every song contains the same basic elements that repeat over and over again.
To summarize: using of different styles on one album turned out to be harmonious, the melodic death acts as a basis, gothic metal acts as an addition. The melody is filled with meaningful solos, which is typical for melodic death metal. The female vocals contrast with the male roar. Although the female vocals will not amaze you, but it inspires you from the first notes. Drums sound uninteresting, but it is noticeable only in some moments. And eventually the album is rather good, although it is a bit monotonous, it is unique.