It’s not been the best of times for German metalcore outfit Deadlock. The band has experienced a tragic passing of a founding member and a departure of a longtime vocalist in the 3 years since the previous release ‘The Arsonist‘. The band make attempts to rebuff themselves and channel the events into to a musical output with ‘Hybris‘.
[tracklist]
01. Epitaph
02. Carbonman
03. Berserk
04. Blood Ghost
05. Hybris
06. Wrath/Salvation
07. Backstory Wound
08. Ein Deutsches Requiem
09. Vergebung
10. Welcome Deathrow
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Napalm Records[/record_label]
[release_date]8th July 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
Deadlock are a special band to me. It’s the only metalcore band I’ve ever truly called one of my favourites, and one that I believe broke some musical boundaries with their early efforts. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to ‘Earth. Revolt‘ and ‘Wolves‘ over and over again, and it offers enough to perpetually keep them interesting even being over 10 years old.
The band seemed to have established heir sound in the industry as more of a brutal pop-metal band, relying on fast, heavy riffing in verses paired with angelic hooks in choruses. To an elitist metal fan that would be a turn off, but for myself, that is what I love about Deadlock. Offering some music that was extremely powerful and captivating on a two-tiered plane.
Sadly the band have suffered some difficulties in the past 3 years of their existence however, with founding member Tobias Graf sadly passing away, and longtime clean vocalist Sabine Scherer departing the band. The band now are expressing those difficulties in the only way they know how – through music. And through that expression comes ‘Hybris‘.
Initially it was hard to picture how this band would go forward with their previous ‘The Arsonist‘ starting to dip towards the experimental side with the introduction of 8-string guitars. Would it be a continuation of that experimentation or a return to the classic Deadlock musical structure. The opening track of ‘Epitaph‘ suggests that it is a fusing of the two.
The band waste no time in kicking off that signature brutal sound with heavy riffing finding pulse with the intense double kicking of the drums, and then surging into the melodic choruses with the very impressive vocals of new clean singer Margie Gerlitz. While ‘Hybris‘ starts as distinctly Deadlock, it’s the questionable experimentation with clean guitars that renders the album into question.
The flurry of notes and structures on the following ‘Carbonmann‘ seem chaotic at best, and for some tracks on the album, the experimentation seems to be the focal point rather than the traditional elements that Deadlock have delivered best.
Tracks such as ‘Blood Ghost‘ and ‘Ein Deutches Requiem‘ don’t exactly provide the listener with that stunning atmosphere as past efforts. They seemingly focus on the technicality rather than impact on the listener. Having said that however, Deadlock have given the album some passionate tracks that are the true highlights.
‘Berserk‘ is an absolute wonder, and ‘Backstory Wound‘ truly highlights the best that the band have to offer. Had the album been full of tracks with this passion and hard-hitting nature, ‘Hybris‘ would have been a smash, but what we take from it is a sense of musical confusion.
‘Hybris‘ is not a bad album, but it is inconsistent. A longtime Deadlock fan would be left feeling very confused by the direction the band are taking, but it’s worth noting that the tracks that are good on the album are probably worth the investment. For a new fan, it may not be the best album to introduce yourself to the band to.
[verdict]Maybe[/verdict]
[why]While the album is full of a respectable passion, ‘Hybris’ highlights that Deadlock are suffering from a musical identity crisis. The tracks that rely on Deadlock’s old brutal pop-metal formula are stunning, while the experimental tracks are often incomprehensible.[/why]
