Deadend in Venice – “See You on the Ground” (2011)

Label : Casket Music

Review by Tony Cannella

Germany’s Deadend in Venice combine melodic Death Metal with old school Thrash riffs to create a 9-song, 32-minute powerhouse of a debut, that hits you hard, fast and straight between the eyes, never wasting time before reaching its conclusion. The band features the duel lead vocals of clean female singer Annabell Klein and the more aggressive style of Christian Litzba. Comparisons are sure to be drawn to another band that excels at melodic death, namely Arch Enemy. Those similarities are there, but the old school thrash influences also surface throughout the debut, which is titled “See You on the Ground”. The fact that “See You on the Ground” clocks in at a brisk 32-minutes means that there is very little wasted moments on the album. From the ferocity of the opening track “Hate Sweet Hate”, Deadend in Venice know only one direction and that is full-on heaviness. The duel vocals of Annabell and Christian are well done goes along with the Death/Thrash style riffs very well. The power riffing opens the next track “Personal Decay”. The melodicism that this band is capable of is on full display here, primarily with the vocals of Annabell. Some of the guitar riffs and the way songs are presented brings me back to 80s style Thrash Metal, a perfect example of this is the 3rd track “Brain Execution”. Other highlights include: “War”, “Long Way Home”, “The Monkey in My Closet”, “Dirty Little Princess” and the great album closer “Tomorrow Never Comes”. I never expected what awaited me when I put on “See You on the Ground”. Deadend in Venice has delivered a solid, no compromising, aggressive, adrenaline filled debut that never fails to impressive throughout it’s all too short playing time.

Rating – 90/100

Tracklist

1. Hate Sweet Hate
2. Personal Decay
3. Brain Execution
4. War
5. Long Way Home
6. Last Chances
7. The Monkey in My Closet
8. Dirty Little Princess
9. Tomorrow Never Comes 

Line Up

• Annabell Klein – Vocals
• Christian Litzba – Vocals
• Kevin Klein – Guitars
• Tim Schmidtke – Guitars
• Andreas Ackermann – Bass
• Frank Koppe – Drums

Links

MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site