Band:
Annabell Klein – Vocals
Christian Litzba – Growls
Tim Schmidtke – Guitars
Kevin Klein – Lead Guitars
Andreas Ackermann – Bass
Frank Koppe – Drums
Diskography:
Debut
Guests
Silas Hofmüller – Bass
Andreas Gemeinhardt – Guitar
Info:
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Andy Schmidt (Disillusion) at “Kick The Flame Studios”
Released 17/6-2011
Reviewed 30/6-2011
Links:
deadend-in-venice.de
myspace
youtube
rock'n'growl
massacre
Well, musically they belong in the melodic death metal sub genre, at least mostly even if they do have quite the varied sound they do start from that very genre. They have a sound that can be considered quite unique with a growling man singing together with a fragile sounding female vocalist which makes for quite an interesting vocal dynamic on paper. It is something I have not really heard before, sure there are this kind of vocal work in the gothic metal in bands like Epica, After Forever, Tristania or what have you but not in this way as this is more of the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound in base with some metalcore influences as well as some other smaller adventures. The three similar bands are what other reviewers have compared it to, I have not heard any of those so I hope it is correct, I can add In Flames or Children of Bodom into the mix as well, the basis for the band’s music is similar to those but not very much like it in end result. Other than the vocal dynamics a feature of this band is their catchiness that run through the album as well as the very melodic sound that they have while still retaining a very heavy metallic overall feel. The production is of course modern and well polished while still keeping a heavy feel to it. It is an album with nine tracks that will take you just over 32 minutes to play if you play everything.
In looking for similar bands to this band I stumbled on some reviews, many were quite positive in the same fashion that I felt this album should be received but I found one that said it sounded like everything else in the genre, what genre? This is the first band I have found that sounds like this, sure there are some that can be considered quite close but not really and that reviewer had two band references in his review, no more than that, if there are many then you can count a lot of bands if you want to. Anyway, this guy said that the female vocals was a weak point because they were not powerful enough, which is a rubbish opinion. I think that Annabell’s fine and fragile feeling vocals makes a great contrast to the rather powerful growls from Christian, it makes for a lot of room to create some great dynamics in the music between the singers. But if you should say that any of the singers is a weakness I think that the growls are a bit unvaried but as the album is so short it does not really become a problem.
The music on this album is quite varied showing that the band has a broad perspective in their creative mind even if most of the music is catchy melodic death metal with this vocal dynamics between the brutal and the fragile, but there are some deviations from this track creating a dynamic album that is not being incoherent. They start with a very heavy pounding track that feels designed to catch you and open your eyes, it is called Hate Sweet Hate and it sets a tone which is followed in tracks like Brain Execution and War to name two. Mostly the songs are built around the vocals of both singers and their dynamics, all but track eight are, on track eight we only get to hear Annabell’s voice. This track is what is best called a speedy goth track with a really catchy chorus as well as some interesting guitar work and the most melodic piece on the album. It is called Dirty Little Princess and that my friends is a real hit, I think that making a video to that and if they manage to get airplay on the radio they will sell a lot of music, it is a wonderful track and it also show an adventurous spirit in the band.
Sure, there are one or two smaller drawbacks, I think that the male vocals can be more varied, they sound more or less the same in all tracks. Then I think the band could have much more variation, most songs now are uptempo and I would have liked the band to also explore things that are more down in tempo, with help of their dynamic vocal duo they can do that. Sure the last and great track Tomorrow Never Comes is a bit down in tempo but I would have liked something like a ballad or similar. It feels a bit like they went a little on the conservative side for this album, which I guess is alright as it is a debut album after all and a really good one at that. I do think though that here you can already notice that there’s a great potential within this band and imagine what a little more imaginative and wild song writing can achieve for their music, they might have a great future ahead of them.
With all that said it can clearly be deduced that the band manages to see someone on the ground without getting their feet wet, their debut album is a really good one with some amazing music, something I believe many will find interesting and I can clearly recommend checking this band out. This debut is definitely not a dead end, there is a lot more to find in this band.
HHHHHHH
