Sometimes, it only takes one listen of an album to know you’ve found something special and an album that certainly fits this description is Deadlock’s 2007 album, Wolves. It’s not often that you come across bands that incorporate techno and electronic sections into death metal music and it’s even more rare to see it done well, so it has to be said that Deadlock really achieved something special with this album.
An early favourite on the album is Code Of Honor, which ended up as the song featuring in the band’s first ever music video, and it’s clear why this was the song chosen because it’s one of those songs that inexplicably gets stuck in your head before you even know what’s happening. The introduction alone sends shivers down your spine as it slowly builds up and up, and when Sabine’s soft and sweet vocals kick in, they really leave an impression on you, and when Joe’s powerfully harsh vocals kick in a short while, the song is complete – the two different styles juxtapose fantastically with one another and that’s before you even take into account the beautiful instrumentation that back the pair up – the guitar solo in this one is stunning.
However, the track that stands head and shoulder above the others is End Begins. A stunning piece from start to finish, this track brings together everything that is wonderful about Deadlock. The drumming in this track from Tobi is especially powerful and it’s impossible to listen without wanting to tap your foot along to, and the vocals are simply begging to be sung along to – both the clean and harsh ones! Honestly, those elements alone are enough to make the track one to remember…but then the techno section sets in. On the outside, it sounds like this absolutely shouldn’t work, but the track would not be the same without it because it adds so much to the song and breaks the track up rather nicely before you’re faced with one last slab of deliciously heavy instrumentation for good measure. If you only check out one song from the album, make sure it’s this one.
Although Wolves is actually the third full-length release from Deadlock, it really does feel like this is the album that laid down the blueprints for future releases from the outfit, and it’s an album that feels just as fresh seven years after it was first revealed to the world.
9/10
You can read our review of Deadlock’s most recent album, their best-of entitled The Re-Arrival, here.
