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Deadlock - Wolves
Lifeforce Records - LFR 069-02 - April 13, 2007
By Jordan Knoll
Amazing. It is simply amazing how a band with a larger than normal line-up of musicians—a female vocalist, a male vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer—can manage to create such utterly boring music with the lasting appeal of the latest bubblegum pop star. This is Wolves, the latest disc from German melodeath act Deadlock, in summation.
The main problem with the record seems to be the band’s complete lack of ingenuity and identity. This literally sounds like every other Gothenburg band you have ever heard. Soaring cleanly sung choruses, dual melodic guitar attacks, occasional 'epic' moments, verse-chorus-verse-bridge structure and a production so slick it would make even Justin Timberlake blush are all present and accounted for. Oh, and don’t forget the 2-dollar fisher price techno keyboard effects that both confound because of how stark a contrast they create in the production and because of their seemingly random, and often times obnoxious, appearances throughout the duration of the album. Sure the band is undoubtedly skilled at their respective instruments but this does not a good Gothenburg record make. In fact, the entire merit of the genre rests dangerously upon guitar melodies alone. So how does Wolves compare in this department? In a word, miserably. It’s not that the melodic work is particularly bad from a technical perspective but rather the issue seems to lie in the band's inability to break away from their influences. The result is an endless trudge through the vanilla and banal that rarely touches upon anything memorable in the process. Consequently, Wolves is never able to shake its 'samey' sound and thusly ends up feeling uninspired and purely derivative.
Instead of forging their own unique sonicscape, Deadlock opt for the easy way out by simply following the lead of others (think recent Soilwork and Disarmonia Mundi). Melodeath addicts may still find something here to like but all others would be the wiser to either dig out their old In Flames albums or simply look elsewhere for that sweet as sugar melodic fix.
Official Deadlock Website
Official Lifeforce Records Website
Lifeforce Records - LFR 069-02 - April 13, 2007
By Jordan Knoll
Amazing. It is simply amazing how a band with a larger than normal line-up of musicians—a female vocalist, a male vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer—can manage to create such utterly boring music with the lasting appeal of the latest bubblegum pop star. This is Wolves, the latest disc from German melodeath act Deadlock, in summation.
The main problem with the record seems to be the band’s complete lack of ingenuity and identity. This literally sounds like every other Gothenburg band you have ever heard. Soaring cleanly sung choruses, dual melodic guitar attacks, occasional 'epic' moments, verse-chorus-verse-bridge structure and a production so slick it would make even Justin Timberlake blush are all present and accounted for. Oh, and don’t forget the 2-dollar fisher price techno keyboard effects that both confound because of how stark a contrast they create in the production and because of their seemingly random, and often times obnoxious, appearances throughout the duration of the album. Sure the band is undoubtedly skilled at their respective instruments but this does not a good Gothenburg record make. In fact, the entire merit of the genre rests dangerously upon guitar melodies alone. So how does Wolves compare in this department? In a word, miserably. It’s not that the melodic work is particularly bad from a technical perspective but rather the issue seems to lie in the band's inability to break away from their influences. The result is an endless trudge through the vanilla and banal that rarely touches upon anything memorable in the process. Consequently, Wolves is never able to shake its 'samey' sound and thusly ends up feeling uninspired and purely derivative.
Instead of forging their own unique sonicscape, Deadlock opt for the easy way out by simply following the lead of others (think recent Soilwork and Disarmonia Mundi). Melodeath addicts may still find something here to like but all others would be the wiser to either dig out their old In Flames albums or simply look elsewhere for that sweet as sugar melodic fix.
Official Deadlock Website
Official Lifeforce Records Website
