It’s always nice to come across a band that has a lot of potential and Finnish industrial act Electric Deathbeat sure has a lot of it when it comes to their debut album Dead Echo Paranoia, and although it does have its flaws, the foundations are there for the band to become a force to reckon with in the coming years.
There are plenty of high points to be found within the album’s eleven songs, such as the seriously catchy second track Death Beats The Tainted and the title track is a momentous inclusion that features some great synth moments and powerful drums to back everything up, and the vocals on this track is both gripping and versatile, featuring a lot of different styles – such as clean, growled, harsh and half-spoken sections – that fit seamlessly together.
However, at times the musical direction and song construction does feel a little misguided, like Electric Deathbeat haven’t quite decided what they want to do with the track and it subsequently means that it’s a little difficult to follow some of the songs – for example, the vocal approach on Oceans Above, Havens Below doesn’t quite slot in with the instrumental line and it’s like the vocals and music are pitted against each other, rather than working to create a more together-sounding track.
Despite this, Dead Echo Paranoia is a good starting point for the band and it will certainly be interesting to see where the band go from here.
6/10
