Music

Album Review: Deadlock ‘Bizarro World’

Published

13 years ago

March 1, 2011

Melodic death metal is a strange genre: People either love it or hate it. I’m in the former category, as I love having heavy riffs mixed with a lot of melody. It’s what gets my blood pumping. So, when I got a copy of Deadlock’s ‘Bizarro World’, I was cautiously excited because it sounded like music that was right up my alley. So, did I enjoy it? Find out, my dear reader, after the jump!

The album opens up with ‘Virus Jones’, which is, all BS aside, one badass track. It sounds fantastic, each instrument clear unto itself yet the song very cohesive. The best thing about this track is the powerful groove that permeates the whole song. The opening riff is driving, crunchy and incredibly tight and the instruments play very well off of each other. The differentiation between Johannes’ and Sabine’s voice are stark, yet they both fit the song just the way they should: Johannes gives the song the anger and violence that it needs while Sabine accentuates the beauty and melody.

Production wise, the album sounds incredible. Each instrument is mixed wonderfully, sounding rich and deep. This is an album that has a vast amount going on and will require multiple listens. There are vast amounts of layers during certain parts of the songs, mixing the guitars/bass/drums that you expect with techno beats and synth patches.

My only complaint when it comes to ‘Bizarro World’ is that I very quickly learned the structure of the songs. Once you get the pattern of one song, it’s a safe bet that you know how the rest of the songs are going to play out. However, too much of a good thing is still a good thing.

The Final Word: If you like this style of music, you will love this album. If you’re ambivalent, you’ll remain so. If you don’t like it, this album won’t change your mind at all. Personally, I enjoyed the album a great deal and will definitely be coming back to it in the future.

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…