Deathstars - Synthetic Generation
Nuclear Blast - NB 1188-2 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
This certainly isn't the kind of thing you'd typically expect from members of Swordmaster and Dissection - usually you'd associate such a fine Swedish pedigree as this with epic underground black metal. However, Deathstars serve up a decidedly different flavour of dark decadence - Synthetic Generation actually takes the form of an industrial metal album, sprinkled with liberal doses of influence from the likes of Rammstein, The Kovenant, Pete Tagtren's electro side-project Pain and more classically goth-tinged bands like Ministry and The Sisters Of Mercy.
Right from the opening track 'Semi-Automatic', the first thing that strikes you is how polished and accessible this sounds... in fact, let's not pussyfoot around, it sounds downright commercial - each track is brimming with jangly 80s-style electro-pop accoutrements, drum 'n' bass synth drums, occasional synth'd vocals, big, crunchy guitar and vocals that sit somewhere between Paradise Lost and The Kovenant. In fact, were it not for the song title and lyrical content, 'The Rape' could easily be a rock club hit on the scale of Nine Inch Nails' perennial 'Closer'.
You may have noticed that there have been a lot of references to other bands throughout the course of this review - and that would be because there isn't a whole lot of originality behind this. Sure, the melodies are infectious, the guitars crunch with a suitable industrial heaviness, and each song is a well-constructed, packaged-for-radio-singledom sparkly thing. But there's not a lot of depth, and not a lot to recommend Deathstars above all the other bands doing this sort of thing.
6/10
Deathstars Official Website
Nuclear Blast Records
Nuclear Blast - NB 1188-2 - 2003
By Philip Whitehouse
This certainly isn't the kind of thing you'd typically expect from members of Swordmaster and Dissection - usually you'd associate such a fine Swedish pedigree as this with epic underground black metal. However, Deathstars serve up a decidedly different flavour of dark decadence - Synthetic Generation actually takes the form of an industrial metal album, sprinkled with liberal doses of influence from the likes of Rammstein, The Kovenant, Pete Tagtren's electro side-project Pain and more classically goth-tinged bands like Ministry and The Sisters Of Mercy.
Right from the opening track 'Semi-Automatic', the first thing that strikes you is how polished and accessible this sounds... in fact, let's not pussyfoot around, it sounds downright commercial - each track is brimming with jangly 80s-style electro-pop accoutrements, drum 'n' bass synth drums, occasional synth'd vocals, big, crunchy guitar and vocals that sit somewhere between Paradise Lost and The Kovenant. In fact, were it not for the song title and lyrical content, 'The Rape' could easily be a rock club hit on the scale of Nine Inch Nails' perennial 'Closer'.
You may have noticed that there have been a lot of references to other bands throughout the course of this review - and that would be because there isn't a whole lot of originality behind this. Sure, the melodies are infectious, the guitars crunch with a suitable industrial heaviness, and each song is a well-constructed, packaged-for-radio-singledom sparkly thing. But there's not a lot of depth, and not a lot to recommend Deathstars above all the other bands doing this sort of thing.
6/10
Deathstars Official Website
Nuclear Blast Records
