Deadlock has been around the block awhile as a band. Gone through member shifts as well as shifts in sound and "artistic vision". The band caught alot of flack with their last album, putting more focus of melodic parts and techno breakdowns than the metalcore they were previously known for. Thus comes from gaining a female singer with a decent singing voice. In the interest of simplicity in this let's just say nothing much has changed.
Well, what we really have here is the mid to late career concept album. This one is about a bizarro world (i know it's a shock), nothing like a pseudo sci fi concept album by a former metalcore band right? They hit all the expected buttons in this album though. They have the heavy song in the beginning that devolves into a Lacuna Coil - esque sing along. Most of the songs follow this formula. Every musician is highly capable of everything except for original writing. Each instrumental part is on point. The guitars get heavy when necessary or vaguely dramatic given the right circumstances. The drums sit nicely in the mix and move the songs along with good fills. Unfortunately, the band still insists on using electronics. I'm not one to complain about electronic supplements if they are well used, sadly this is not the case here. Many times the other instruments will drop out to accentuate the electronics which are generally generics bleeps. Rather than adding to the songs they seem to sap every bit of energy out of the songs instead. They also seem to have a spot in every song whether needed or not.
Everything seems to point towards this being Deadlock's lead in to becoming a nu metal band rather than the metalcore band of the past. This is to say that this album would be just fine being sold in your local hot topic. With the right promotion this could be huge in seriousness. Unfortunately, that leaves those of us that actually liked Deadlock as a metal band with hardcore tendencies and strong convictions left in the cold. The band would be smart to co headline a tour with Lacuna Coil and get over with. Really and truly the closest comparison would be the aforementioned Lacuna Coil. With the heavy use of female melodic singing and generally unnecessary male grunting. The whole album is extremely clean and nothing feels out of place. Along with that there is nothing to keep the listener coming back for more either.
