Dead Register : "Captive"

This Atlanta band is back with their interesting blend of varied shadowy elements. There is a more soaring feel to title track that opens the album. The croon of their lead singer sounds more nuanced and refined. It heads in more of an Interpol direction than a bellow. The metallic elements are more of a booming undertone and not the focus. They bring many layers together and weave them in a way that works well. While you can tell they are influenced by doom, they are not a doom band, at least not how we define doom around here. After additional listens the guitar melody really struck me and it became clear how much more polished of an effort this is.

The pace picks up a little for "Ender". There are some thoughtful nuances in the vocals . I like when the word "Thoughts" is given more grit amid the smoother sung verse. When I say verse these guys flow rather than adhere to a strict verse chorus formula. The vocals don't get predictably bigger at the chorus, which is the staple of radio rock . The songs here swirl around you and are immersive in the way they are draped around you. "Heresy" has more of a new wave feel, with out having to rely on the synths to take the lead. The guitars cry out of the layers of sound that finds the bass and drums anchoring things to a more driven tempo.  Things get more dynamic , but not heavier when the song builds , which is fine by me.

Dead and Gone's "Blood From a Ghost" is an interesting choice of song to cover. They were an obscure band from the Los Angeles death rock scene from the 90s .Members of this band went on to form Alaric. If you shot dope in the late 90s  in West Hollywood then you are probably familiar with these guys.   There is more movement to  the heavier "Monochrome" it slinks rather than grooves , before building into a stormier crescendo . The drums do some pretty interesting things along the way.  I like the more palm muted tension. This song probably has the most heft. I would not call this metal though it carries the kind of melancholic mood most relate to , it's almost like the depression is coming out sideways as aggression here.

The key selling point for me is it answers the question I ask most music "Is it dark enough for me". I think this is step forward for the band in how they not only crafted these sounds, but coming up with a songwriting thumb print of their own. They are not tied to one genre. Heavier post-punk would be the elevator pitch for these guys.So fans of bands like Voices or Alaric, will dig these guys. I am impressed as I see this as an album I'll return to while I am giving this one a 9.5 , I think the biggest compliment I can give these guys is the fact their album made it to my iPod, as it's something I would listen to on a fairly regular basis, It sits nicely between my goth tendencies and the more down trodden doomy fare I typically ingest.