Germany’s Deadlock Makes it back on the scene with their 5th studio release “Bizarro World” which yet again doesn’t seem to quite cut it as far as getting them too much recognition in the metal community.  From what I’ve heard from their last albums and read online they don’t change things up too much.  Straying way too close to the fad of having a growling male vocalist (Johannes Prem) and a wonderous female lead (Sabine Scherer) switching off throughout each individual track.

Musically, there does seem to be  some pretty catchy riffs scattered throughout the entire album that will grab your attention, however they don’t really stay consistent enough for one to really give too much of a damn.  Now normally I’m the kind of guy that loves the switch offs of dual vocalists that can add clarity to a tune but the extremes of the two styles these two do are a little too different from one another to really mix too well together.  The best hypothetical example I can provide would be to try imagining, if you will, early In Flames and Evanescence trying to be mashed together.  Kind of sends a chill down the spine and i don’t mean the kind you get from losing your virginity.  I’m talking about the kind of chill you you get from realizing the dog comes in and sticks its snout where it doesn’t belong.

Now don’t get me wrong, Prem and Scherer both are very talented in their own element.  If they were to break away and do their own projects i would imagine the both of them being a good deal more successful in gaining notoriety.  However, the band could have merely missed that window of opportunity where metal with simultaneous male and female vocals were interesting and fairly new in metal.  After Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation seemed to break that barrier these guys just come off as generic and unoriginal sounding.  They lack that extra element or new spice that will separate them from their predecessors in the genre that will bring them where I’m sure they want to be.

As far as notable tracks go, it’s like i mentioned before, you hear one song you hear the whole album almost.  Interesting enough intro, enter in heavy vocals, bring in the serine heroine (female hero, not the narcotic) vocals, throw a few keyboard and synth backgrounds and boom! DeadLock.  For those itching with curiousity however i would suggest the opening tracks: “Virus Jones” and “State of Decay” and track 8 entitled “Renegade” which to me shows Scherer’s potential if she were to pursue a creative path individually.

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