Title: Coat of Arms
Artist: DeadStar Assembly
Genre: Industrial Metal
Release Day: 7th May 2010
Label: Spiralchords Music
Introduction
Finally the time has come for the death pop / industrial rock project DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY from sunny Florida to release their third output ‘Coat of Arms’. After gaining more and more success and exposure with the release of their debut album, DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY (including the hit cover ‘Send Me An Angel’) and the subsequent album ‘Unsaved’ - first in the Florida underground and then nationwide - another sinister, intense, and moody piece of crushing guitars, aggressive beats, and atmospheric synthies has now arrived to invade your ear canals. Right now, the four-piece (consisting of Deadborn on vocals, DreGGs on guitar, The Dro on bass, Kriz D.K. on drums and Mubo on keyboards) is touring the States in support of this new album in order to launch their newest musical delirium into the masses!
Album Review
After an atmospheric and dark intro that slowly builds up into some sort of sound wall, the “aural annihilation” of ‘Coat of Arms’ starts with the first song ‘Arm And A Leg’, which turns out to be a real powerful and fast opener. It contains everything that DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY has stood for in the past: Crushing, straight-forward “in-your-face” guitar riffs, a sick groove, angry vocals, and a very rhythmic chorus that gets stuck in one’s head easily - also because of some speaking choir-style passages. The band also surprises with a cool short guitar solo that really matches the song. While the synthies seem to be more subordinated in this first song, they are coming to the forefront in the next two songs ‘F.Y.G.’ and ‘The Darkest Star’ and therefore add a lot of atmosphere and a very dark vibe to the album. Personally I have always loved DSA’s focus on synth-laden industrial beats in the past, and on that score they also don’t disappoint on this output. As usual, both the compositions and the lyrics are very dark, and the latter are in fact carrying the motives of hopelessness, negativity, and transience throughout the album.
What also needs to be remarked is that DreGGs on guitar and Kriz on drums once again really get to show off their amazing skills on their instruments on this album. Besides, there are some real dance-floor hits such as ‘We Fade Forever’ and ‘Rise Again’ and one can also find some heavier, riff-centred moments that remind of the typical nu-metal bands of the early 2000’s (e.g. in the song ‘Already Dead’). Dearborn’s voice also still reminds me of ORGY’s Jay Gordon at times, and the whole song ‘Shadows’ could have easily been written by the likes of STATIC-X, especially because of the typical staccato guitar riffs and the screamed passages. Another highlight is the song ‘Breathe for Me’ which is by far the song with the most single or hit potential. In general, it is softer, catchier, and more melodious than the rest of the album and thus really sticks out. Some nice piano sounds and a brilliant guitar solo also contribute to make this one of the best songs on the album - along with the dark, groovy, and synth-laden song ‘Rise Again’ (that follows right after ‘Breathe For Me’), the heavy piece ‘F.Y.G.’, and the above mentioned ‘We Fade Forever’.
All 12 songs sum up to form a solid, safe work which once again shows off the typical sound and style of DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY. Nevertheless one needs to remark that ‘Coat of Arms’ in general lacks some kind of variety. The guys mostly used the same tempo and the same (angry and aggressive) mood throughout the album, and the crushing guitars are present in every song, while the synthies are sometimes more on the forefront and sometimes rather in the background. The album contains in fact some catchy, groovy, or straight-forward moments that gets one hooked or that really gives some incentives to wildly bang one’s head, but it also contains some weaker songs, and in general it is lacking some diversity in terms of composition and vocals. Compared to their debut album, ‘Coat of Arms’ is also lacking a good portion of atmosphere, which means that the album does not cause the listener to get as lost in various thoughts, worlds, and moods as on the previous releases. Taking all of this aside, though, on the bottom line we have a solid album that is of course neither genre-defining nor too outstanding, but which is nevertheless very likely to please fans of modern industrial metal and groove metal, and of course all DSA lovers!
Tracklist
01. Coat Of Arms
02. Arms And A Leg
03. F.Y.G.
04. The Darkest Star
05. Shadow
06. We Fade Forever
07. Already Dead
08. Blood Bags
09. Breathe For Me
10. Rise Again
11. In Secrecy
12. Curtains
Line-up
Dearborn – Vocals
DreGGs –Guitar
The Dro – Bass
Kriz D.K. – Drums
Mubo - Keyboards
Website
http://www.deadstar.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/deadstarassembly
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7.5
Sound: 7.5
Extras: --
Total: 7.5 / 10
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