Deadlock – Hybris

But, while no major stylistic surprises follow, there's plenty of quality music. Track 2, ‘Carbonman’, is really pretty excellent, and should be universally appealing to metal fans of all stripes. I should almost rescind my "no major stylistic surprises" comment for the final 30 seconds of that song, where the vocals and a lone clean guitar emerge from the twisted metal of the preceding minutes to roll the piece to its conclusion. There are a bunch of those little interesting moments throughout. Some of those departures are outstanding, especially the ending of ‘Blood Ghost’, which probably could have been its own stand-alone interlude track.

The operatic opening to ‘Ein Deutsches Requiem’ is another that deserves praise - - this may be the best song on "Hybris." Acoustic guitar instrumental, ‘Vergebung,’ also serves up a brief, quiet respite. But as quickly as these moments begin, Deadlock consistently, quickly slide the music back into their Melodeath comfort zone. This would be a fatal flaw, but there are enough good songs to the album doesn't die. Of course there are some duds, including the title track, but the good on "Hybris" outweighs the bad. Note: there's a minute of silence in the middle of the album that threw me during my first listen. I've come to learn it's in tribute to the band's founder, Tobias Graf, who'd also been their drummer. Classy touch.