Manifesto (Deadlock album)

Manifesto
Studio album by
Deadlock
Released17 November 2008 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan)
20 January 2009 (United States)
GenreMelodic death metal, experimental metal
Length52:48
LanguageEnglish
LabelLifeforce Records
ProducerSebastian Reichl
Deadlock chronology
Wolves
(2007) 		Manifesto
(2008) 		Bizarro World
(2011)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Exclaim!(generally terrible)[2]
Metal Hammer6/7[3]
Metal.de[4]
MetalSucks[5]

Manifesto is the fourth full-length studio album by German melodic death metal band Deadlock. It was released by Lifeforce Records on 17 November 2008 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Japan, and on 20 January 2009 in the United States. A box set limited to 1000 copies with two bonus tracks and several items was released as well.[6]

Manifesto is a concept album about animal rights and veganism.[7][8] Musically, the album marked a change to a more experimental style by the band, incorporating sections of techno, rap, saxophone and orchestral arrangements into its melodic death metal style.[1]

The track, "The Brave/Agony Applause", is the first single off the album and has a music video.[6] The song "Seal Slayer" is a slight reinterpretation of the track "Kill, Kill, Kill", which the band previously recorded as a benefit for "The Canadians", an organization against Canadian seal hunting, through a request by PETA.[9]

Manifesto was promoted by playing one new song off the album each day on their MySpace until its European release.[6] It is Deadlock's last release to feature longtime band member Thomas Huschka on bass.

Critical reception

Manifesto received polarized reviews from music critics. While some had unfavorably critiqued its highly experimental approach,[2][7] others praised its departure from the melodic death metal style which was prominent during the mid-2000s.[3][4] Thorsten Zahn of Metal Hammer stood out the band's "uncompromising work" and went on to say that "Manifesto is undoubtedly the best melodic death metal album by a German band."[3] Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic was not as enthusiastic however, stating that despite its "oftentimes brave and unquestionably well-intentioned efforts", the diverse influences "feel too forced and scattered [...] to shake up those tired metalcore formulas".[1]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."The Moribund Choir vs. The Trumpets Of Armageddon (Intro)" Reichl/Graf1:10
2."Martyr To Science"PremReichl/Graf5:13
3."Slaughter’s Palace"PremReichl/Graf4:22
4."The Brave / Agony Applause"PremReichl/Graf/Scherer4:03
5."Deathrace"PremReichl/Graf6:46
6."Fire At Will"PremReichl/Graf4:53
7."Seal Slayer"PremReichl/Graf5:39
8."Manifesto (Instrumental)" Reichl/Graf2:24
9."Dying Breed"PremReichl/Graf5:38
10."Altruism"ReichlReichl/Scherer3:03
11."Temple Of Love (The Sisters of Mercy Cover)"EldritchEldritch3:06
12."The Brave / Agony Applause (Acoustic Live) (bonus track)"PremReichl/Graf/Scherer3:35
13."Martyr to Spam (Planetakis vs. Deadlock) (bonus track)"PremReichl/Graf2:36
Total length:52:48

Personnel

Band members
  • Johannes Prem - harsh male vocals
  • Sabine Weniger - clean female vocals
  • Sebastian Reichl - lead and rhythm guitars
  • Gert Ryman - rhythm guitar
  • Thomas Huschka - bass guitar
  • Tobias Graf - drums
Guest/session musician
  • "Warpath" - 1st rap verse on "Deathrace"
  • "Sick Since" from Lost Children of Babylon - 2nd rap verse on "Deathrace"
  • Michael Bernhard Gerber - saxophone solo on "Fire at Will"
  • Christian Älvestam (Scar Symmetry) - guest clean male vocals on "Dying Breed"
  • Morten Loewe - drums on "Altrusim", drum co-producer
  • DJ Morgoth - remix of "Martyr to Science" (Planetakis vs. Deadlock)
Crew
  • Sebastian Reichl - recording, producing, engineering, mixing and mastering on "The Brave / Agony Applause (Live Acoustic Version)", mastering on "Martyr to Spam"
  • Jacob Hansen - mixing, mastering
  • Michael Popp - additional programming on "The Moribund Choir Vs. The Trumpets of Armageddon"
  • "The Hitfarmers" - production, scratches, mixing on "Deathrace"
  • Adam Wentworth - art direction, design, illustration
  • Jason Pereira - art direction

References

  1. ^ a b c Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Deadlock | Manifesto". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b Harper, Kevin (20 April 2009). "Deadlock | Manifesto". Exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Zahn, Thorsten (25 June 2010). "Deadlock - MANIFESTO". Metal Hammer (in German). Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Deadlock - Manifesto". Metal.de (in German). 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  5. ^ Anso DF (27 January 2009). "DEADLOCK'S MANIFESTO: HOLD THE HAM, PLEASE". MetalSucks. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "Deadlock - Entire Album Streaming, Video Online". Metal Storm. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b Begrand, Adrien (4 April 2011). "Deadlock: Bizarro World". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  8. ^ McGinn, Kyle (7 August 2016). "Deadlock – On Perseverance". Deadrhetoric.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2018. John Gahlert: The album Manifesto was released to complete the message on the vegan nature of things, [...]
  9. ^ Verhoeven, Patrick (December 2008). "Deadlock". Lordsofmetal.nl. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.