These days it's hard to take melodic black metal and death metal bands with a heavy European slant seriously. Mind-numbing repetition, over the top satanic gimmicks and a lack of progression have all chiseled away at the once imposing genre over the years and much of the damage caused has been irreparable. Add in the fact that many of those in the metalcore and hardcore genres have liberally pillaged the styles repertoire as of late and it quickly becomes clear that making an impact in this area of music is no longer an easy task.

Not so for Germany's Deadlock, who continue on with their conceptual storyline of humanities dark nature and their eventual demise caused by it on "Earth.Revolt". A wholly impressive album that blends blistering technical chops with enough malignant-sounding metal to sear off the corpse paint, the grandiose gothic atmosphere and unrelenting levels of grim aggression present are both innovative and inspiring. True, the band could easily be compared to acts like Dimmu Borgir and Dark Tranquillity, but the punchier style present here and less emphasis on vocals overall do help the band stand out.

An often subtle addition of keyboard parts ensures the material is heady and ethereal while the bands relentless nature and repugnant disposition keep the emotions remaining bleak and enraged. Deadlock's secret weapon however comes in the form of the occasional emergence of enchanting, near-angelic, female vocals; which while occasionally a bit too overbearing ala Evanescence, and all too often under used, add impressive dynamic energy and give an element of surprise and extra weight to the bands rigorously constructed assault.

Of course, while the band generally do little wrong, that's not to say they don't fall victim to the familiar trappings. Long-winded songs, drawn out solos and yes, repetition are all caveats of this outing. But even so, there's still something charming and intriguing about the way they have managed to tie everything together in a unexpectedly revitalized way. While it may not be an instant genre classic, it adeptly utilizes enough of today's best qualities to deliver an engaging listen, and one can't really ask for much more than that.