Deadcell- Black Rooster

Artist - DeadCell

CD Title - Black Rooster

Label – Urgence Disk Records

Reviewer: Robert Eaton

Date: 2-7-10

Deadcell is out of the Netherlands, and the album “Black Rooster” is their third full-length disk. The band’s sound, which is guitar driven and sample-heavy, has earned Deadcell spots on tour in Europe with big-name acts like Hanzel und Gretel, Das Ich, The Cruxshadows, and Punish Yourself. The band’s theatrical live show has brought further attention. Black Rooster’s eleven tracks are unrelentingly heavy and will appeal to fans of industrial metal like Fear Factory, Test Dept., and 16 Volt. Deadcell, according to guitarist/vocalist Marc Bodine, is also a heavily political project, just in case you missed it in the sample montage that makes up the intro to the album.

The albums opening track “The New Plague” manages with its chugging guitars and drums to remind the listener of Rammstein, but the interludes add atmosphere. “Dues Ex Machina” opens with dramatic orchestral touches, and then explodes to a Ministry-like fast bpm romp. The song is one of the album’s strongest. “The Frontline” is along similar lines. Then, the title track keeps the synth programming up a little higher in the mix, and sounds much more industrial than much of the album’s dominantly metal songs. The latter part of the album losses steam and the songs bog down in a mid-tempo groove. Of the latter songs, “I Cry” stands out melodically, with some nice electronic touches and keys.

The album is heavy on guitars, heavy on samples, and is a consistently solid album, especially the album’s first half. “Black Rooster” has many good tracks, but lacks any tracks which consistently stand above a lot of industrial metal. For fans of industrial metal, in the vein of ‘90’s industrial metal, however, this album is a no-brainer. It’s a good album, but not an exceptional industrial album: too often, “Black Rooster” sounds like a metal album recorded with a drum machine.

Check out the band: https://www.myspace.com/deadcellband