Deadfall: New Light

The American djent/progressive duo Deadfall released their debut release – the New Light five track EP. With a Berklee background, there is obviously a lot of talent and skill in Deadfall, which they certainly showcase on this EP.

True to the djent ethos, the five tracks are progressive and rhythmically complex guitar riffs that are both mind-boggling and heavy at the same time, accompanied by programmed drums – unfortunately, since the drums do lack the organic approach of a real living drummer (especially the fills sound a bit mechanical). Still, that cannot take away from Deadfall the fact that their riffs are pretty awesome, and that the overlaying of clean guitars on top of groovy and heavy passages works extremely well. I really like the haunting effect this strategy has and the texture that the clean elements generate. The tunes are generally well composed, I think, with the closer 'Utopia' as my favorite. I have read some reviews complaining that the five tracks on this release are monotonous and boring. I tend to disagree with this claim – I do not think that the compositions themselves are trivial or boring, and there really are a lot of things going on in the riffs, but I think that perhaps some people will find it hard to listen to instrumental music that focuses on groove rather than melody (there is a lot of melody on this release though, just check tracks like 'New Light' and 'Utopia').

Now, Deadfall have opted for instrumental music, and that is okay, but I also find it strange, because all the tracks contain several passages that lend themselves perfectly to singing, and I really hope that Deadfall will be expanded with a vocalist, as I think that vocal melodies would enrich the music immensely and add a further melodic dimension and another source of progressive complexity - I can imagine that a vocal acrobat along the lines of Jon Arch would sound incredibly cool with Deadfall's music. While we are talking expansion of the band, Deadfall would also benefit from hiring a drummer because, as mentioned above, a live drummer would add a more organic feel to the music, and – I am sure – a live progressively oriented drummer would also be able to insert little details that a non-drummer would probably not even think off when programming drumbeats.

If there is one thing that this release shows, then it must be that there is a lot of talent in Deadfall and, despite the reservations I have listed above, things look really promising. If they play their cards right, I think that Deadfall could have a bright future on the djent progressive metal scene. New Light is not flawless, but it is a collection of intelligently written songs which I, at least, think are very enjoyable to listen to. As mentioned, I hope that Deadfall will be expanded with a vocalist and a drummer, and I am very interested to see where the future will take this promising progressive band.

Track Listing:
1. Shades of Inception
2. The Divergence
3. In Death's Path
4. New Light
5. Utopia

Added: September 5th 2011
Reviewer: Kim Jensen
Score:
Related Link: Deadfall @ Facebook
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Language: english

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