| CD REVIEW Deathstars |
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Band: Deathstars Stockholm based Swedish Industrial Metal masters Deathstars are apparently making it a habit of bringing us albums with with three years’ interval: debut album Synthetic Generation came to us in 2003 (well, it was actually first released “locally” through LED Recordings before Nuclear Blast re-issued the album throughout Europe; the US had to wait till 2004), sophomore album Termination Bliss in 2006 (review posted rather early on 29/12/2005), and January 2009 is the time for Night Electric Night! I know, that makes this a pretty late review, but what can you do when labels don’t even send out promo copies of their albums anymore? Luckily, our editor-in-chief has a good working relationship with the people at PIAS (the Belgian distributors), and when I pointed out to The Chief that it was kind of a pity that we hadn’t seen a promo copy of the new Deathstars album…well, long story short, PIAS let him have a copy of the album’s “Gold Edition” for review…and personal collection (regrettably, because I’d managed to swipe the promos of the earlier material of the band frrom under his nose…he’s not really intoo Industrial music anyway, you know)! So, time to give you some updates. When Termination Bliss was released, it hit the Swedish charts at #42, the German charts at #87. The limited edition of the album added a “Driven On” remix (done by Mortiis) of album track “Blitzkrieg”, and the Japanese version of the album (released in February on the Avalon Marquee label) came witth twó bonus tracks. During Summer 2006, the band announced they’d hired Cat Casino (real name Eric Bäckman) for second guitar duties during Summer festival performances. By the way, if you’re interested, I found out the other bandmember’s real names are Andreas Bergh (aka “Whiplasher Bernadotte” on vocals), Emil Nödveidt (“Nightmare Industries”, guitar and keyboards), Jonas Kangur (“Skinny Disco, bass/ backing vocals), and Ole Öhman (“Bone W Machine, drummer). After adding Casino as official member to their line-up in September, a headline tour titled 48 Carat Darkness saw the quintet playing in Italy, Hungary, the Czech republic, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the UK during October and early November. More 2006 European dates followed when the band joined Cradle Of Filth on tour starting November 12. After the Winter stop, the band was out on the European roads again, but had to cancel dates in Greece after guitarist Cat Casino had sustained a wrist injury. In April all ails were forgotten, the band again touring through Europe with Mortiis as support. In late October 2007 Deathstars entered the Metrosonic Recording Studios in New York City (Nightmare’s new hometown) to start recordings for their new album, initially getting the working title of Deathglam. However, when Metallica issued their Death Magnetic album, Deathstars changed the tentative title of their forthcoming album to Night Electric Night, at the same time jokingly stating that Deathstars had inspired the signature font and the track name “Cyanide” on the Metallica album, and Whiplasher later on continued the joke by kidding that Deathstars was considering re-titling their album (which saw additional recordings at Stockholm’s Future Legends Studios with production by Nightmare Industries and was then mixed in cooperation with Stefan Glaumann at the Toytown studios, also in Stockholm) to Master Of Muppets! During January and February 2008, the band interrupted work on the album in order to set out on another European tour, this time in support of Korn (and without Öhman, the drummer having to “take care of his family back home”. Adrian Erlandsson aka “El Podrito” of Cradle Of Filth, At The Gates, Brujeria, The Haunted, Decameron Code…and a few others…repute joining the band on that tour). May 2008 saw Nuclear Blast release an ultimate edition of the Termination Bliss album, adding a bonus track in a “Piano Version” of the album’s title track to the CD (but omitting original bonus track)…and a DVD including all of the band’s music videos including “Making Of” footage. Anyway, the new album…sees Deathstars confortably settled in their niche of “DeathGlam”, really a mixture of Dark Metal and Electro Metal with definite Industrial touches! The addition of a second guitarist hasn’t changed much to the sound established with their previous album, in fact the guitars are still very much mainly rhythmic (and devoid of solos), the keyboards (with their electronic sound rather than orchestrated or organ-type palate) being the “lead instrument” in the whole. In all honesty, I’m guessing Casino was added to allow Nightmare (still the main composer of the material) to bring his keyboards in live settings, rather than him playing guitar with a recording of the keyboards (which, in conjuncture with the vocals, are so definitively important in the band’s overall dark sound) playing in the background. Vocally, you still get a mixture of Whiplasher’s somewhat Goth-styled singing/ moaning with whispered/ softly screamed blackened backings, and the occasional vocodered and female backing (at least this time I know they’re credited to one Ann Ekberg). The album release was preceeded by a single for “Death Dies Hard”, issued on January 2nd, and this is one of the two tracks (the title track being the second) off the album the band posted at myspace.com/deathstars (two songs of each of the previous albums are still posted for your audio pleasure and possible introduction to the band in case you hadn’t heard their music yet). If you’ve gotten the wrong imprression that this new album has the band taking the easy road and unifying their sound, better think again. The five songs which include the female backing singer get a more Poppy feel (say Sisters Of Mercy touch anyone?), but there’s other tracks where the band shows itself from far heavier sides as well! This “Gold Edition” of Night Electric Night has the advantage of being a box set including a bonus DVD [containing the video clips the band made for new single “Death Dies Hard” (view it at the band’s MySpace page), plus those for “Virtue To Vice”, “Blitzkrieg”, and “Cyanide” made for the Terminal Bliss album, and “Syndrome” & “Synthetic Generation” for the debut album…“Making Of” footage for “Death Dies Hard”, “Virtue To Vice”, “Blitzkrieg”, and “Cyanide”…and Deathstars wallpapers and a screensaver], and bonus material on the CD in the form of alternate versions of the album’s title track [one with a nice Electro meets sample intro (sample elements returning during and at the end of the song) and a more elaborate role for the synths with the guitars mixed out of the equasion…a remix done by Skinny), the other a version with Adrian Erlandsson on the drums…somehow I had a feeling the guitars were a bit more forceful as well, but I guess that’ll be just wishful thinking)] and “Via The End” [a track which is already a bit calmer overall in its own right, but due to the omission of the guitars the alternate definitely deserves the “piano version” affix, as that’s what the music is now focussed on!]. Put together in a nice hardboard package including 20-page booklet, this “Gold Edition” is a must for the fans. By the way, I’m not sure what tracks might be added to the Japanese version of the original album (or this “Gold Edition”…if it comes out over there, that is), but I happen to know that the South American version of the “Gold Edition” adds a cover of Gorgoroth’s “Unchain My Heart” to the CD! Darn…I lóve this band, and that’s why you’ll find Night Electric Night lodged quite comfortably in my “best Albums Of 2009”-lists! 98/100 Tony. |