Deathstars - Termination Bliss (2006)^{Release ID: 5622}

I don't think it'll surprise too many of you to hear that I struggled with this one & I was always expecting to if I'm honest. I've encountered Deathstars a number of times over the years while programming the monthly The Sphere playlists & it was always clear to me that they sit well outside of my musical taste profile so I've never felt the need to fill in the gaps by venturing into a full album before. Now having done that over the last 24 hours I'm left feeling exactly as a thought I would. You see the sound that Deathstars are pushing here is a fair bit poppier than I'm generally comfortable with & if you're going to go that way then you'd better have the hooks to back it up. There are a few tracks that succeed in that regard (see "Cyanide", "Termination Bliss" & to a lesser extent "Virtue To Vice") but unfortunately I don't think they've nailed them consistently enough to draw my attention away from my stylistic concerns here.

On the positive side, the production job is clear, bright & glistening & does a great job at highlighting the band's main strength which is the contrast between the chunky guitar riffs & the lush & spacey synthesizer component. The simple groove-laden riffs have so clearly been stolen from the template that Rammstein developed that it's bordering on plagiarism while the synths give the overall package a noticeable cyber metal feel. For that reason I see this release as sitting somewhere in between the German Neue Deutsche Härte sound & a cyber metal one. There's absolutely no industrial metal here whatsoever so I'm absolutely baffled as to how this release has been lumped into that category. I'd encourage all members of The Sphere to correct that mistake ASAP. The other interesting element is the gothic one as the super-deep male vocals & dancey tempos have pretty obviously been borrowed from Sisters of Mercy, once again bordering on plagiarism at times. You'll also find some accompanying blackened vocals scattered across the tracklisting & those are pretty poorly executed & a little grating if I'm honest. Thankfully the few tracks that I do enjoy are really quite strong & there's nothing here that I regard as utterly horrendous so my overall opinion is that "Termination Bliss" simply isn't for me.

For fans of Rammstein, The Kovenant & Sisters of Mercy.

P.S. I was pretty surprised to discover that Deathstars were born out of the ashes of melodic black metal outfit Swordmaster whose "Wraths of Time" E.P. I was across during my tape trading days back in the mid-1990's. Also, guitarist/keyboardist Emil Nödtveidt is the brother of deceased Dissection mastermind Jon Nödtveidt while drummer Ole Öhman played on Dissection's classic albums. Both of these guys were also in melodic black metal band Ophthalamia who you might have heard of too.

Even though I'm glad to join The Sphere, I still haven't listened to as much industrial metal as many of the genres in my other clans, though there might be more, thanks to the tracks I've enjoyed in the Sphere monthly playlists, such as one of the tracks in this album (sneak peek for the July playlist premiering less than a week after this review!). From the gothic-ish cyber metal sound to the artwork of blood and nudity, Deathstars' Termination Bliss can be quite strange yet awesome!

I might try their other albums later, but Termination Bliss is a perfect work of cyber metal and what got me interested in Deathstars. I'm no expert in song analysis, but I've done it hundreds of reviews before, and that's what I shall do again...

"Tongues" is a slow melodic awesome album opener to get you pumped for incoming darkness. The deep dark voice sticks with the heavy electronic rhythm. I also enjoy the chorus and the female singing before it. "Blitzkrieg" is blazing epic techno-metal fire complete with an awesome mix of voice samples, guitar distortion, and driving rhythm. Excellent single and probably the best here! "Motherzone" feels a little bothersome. I mean I love the warm chorus, but the change from techno groove to violent heaviness is abrupt. It's great, but not the right bridge. "Cyanide" is a perfect hooker! Great rhythm alongside more of those deep dark vocals. They probably work better in studio than live and, along with the bass, shine more than the guitars that are still awesome. From the synth intro onward, you'll never get bored even after hundreds of listens.

"Greatest Fight on Earth" is a weird slow heavy track. The King Diamond-like chorus is once again sung by that female vocalist, Ann Ekberg. It's an impressive waltz within the rhythm and vocals. Not the greatest of the album, but definitely in my favorites list down below. "Play God" is quite killer. The great chorus with heavy rhythm is what makes that song remarkable. Probably the best for public jogging! "Trinity Fields" is the longest of the album, though only 4 and a half minutes long. It's not bad, but sounds kinda plain. It still works as a relaxing change of pace in one of their gigs, or at home after a long day out. Different yet nicely great.

Holy sh*t, "The Last Ammunition" is another brilliant highlight. There really should've been a single for this, being the 3rd-best song of the album (behind "Cyanide" and "Blitzkrieg"), though maybe I would find better songs in the others. If there ever was a video for this song, it could be the soundtrack for the combat sequence of a modern war video game. With dramatic rhythm, synths, and vocals, this is as perfect bliss as those two other favorites. You must check them out! After that perfect storm comes the calm of "Virtue to Vice". This is probably the softest song of the album, quite close to a ballad. The guitars and vocals shine despite their softness, and you might hear more of that in their next album. "Death in Vogue" shows that, while the album is still deserving of this 5-star rating, this song is once again just plain. You can read or study to that! The title track has slower melancholy with sad emotion. You don't need to know the lyrics to get the feeling, an achievement first made by Queen in "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Well my reviews are mostly based on my own taste, but Termination Bliss is so amazing that you have to listen to believe. We'll see how much I enjoy their other albums, but for now, this is Deathstars' best work and a (inter)stellar piece of cyber metal!

Favorites: "Tongues", "Blitzkrieg", "Cyanide", "Greatest Fight on Earth", "Play God", "The Last Ammunition"