Massacre Records (2012)

Marketing is a tough job for record labels these days. So many artists vying for limited consumer attention spans. When a new act like Germany’s Dreadlink cross the lines of modern metal, down-tuned guitar riffs and squeals with a slight, melancholic Crowbar sludge factor- it’s forgivable to have the publicity department stick a ‘modern thrash’ tag on the quintet’s style. Forming in 2009and with a few years of experience under their belt (age ranges of the members between 25 and 33), the 10 songs on “Zero One” go for the Pantera /‘money riff’ early and often- while singer Raphael Adamek simulates the rhythmic patterns at times and sounds like a montage of Phil Anselmo and Robb Flynn thrown through a razor maze.

Dreadlink keep the songs punchy in the drum department- Klas Mossakowski using all the half time snare and cymbal tricks to encourage audience participation on “Reinforced Concrete” and “Fist vs. Face” among others. As guitarists Sascha Bruggert and Jannes Carstens-Behrens keep their riffs lean and mean and the chord changes simple, so you will not mistake their technique for being shred worthy or even technically minded. I discount a full point for the invented word “Haterpillar”– the arrangement slithers along much like a small insect and Raphael’s monotonous tough guy portrayal grows old quickly.

Thebest song of the bunch is “Seven”- a lot of the guitar parts remind me of early Crowbar and I can imagine serious wind mill action in the pit to this one. Yet one winner amongst ten songs does not a strong, landmark release make. Maybe if this release hit the streets five years earlier it would gain more than a cursory glance- but these days groove laden modern down-tuned metal is something hundreds of artists perform with more conviction and originality than Dreadlink.

www.dreadlink.com
www.massacre-records.com

Rating: 3 / 6

Composed by Matt Coe