Point Zero Solution

Deals Death's debut Internal Demons had its moments of no frills post-Bodom magnificence, but the little I heard of Elite and now all of Point Zero Solution is not fit to shine the shoes of the band's somewhat-convincing debut. Lower the bar even further, because we are delving into a rarified dominion of melodic death irrelevance here with Deals Death. But there are countless clone bands out there, many with ideas and executions far less polished and complete than this; and therein lies at least part of the problem. Point Zero Solution is brilliantly produced by Jonas Kjellgren, who may be as deft behind the knobs as he is behind the fretboard. The entire experience is ensconced in corporeal and convincing orchestrations, rousing epic flames that only bring to light other deficiencies.

The more processed, artificial and antiseptic this becomes, the closer it begins to toe the line toward the ever-abstruse genre wasteland known as "extreme metal." For example, take a listen to "The Separation," observe as Olle Ekman hams his way through vapid lyrics with effects-drowned caterwauling befitting of later Dimmu Borgir; and that's exactly what a lot of Point Zero Solution comes off as. It isn't really melodeath anymore, the powerchords phased out of relevance so far as to become an amorphous mass of distortion sitting idly in the shadows because, well... this is a "metal" band after all, right? Licks have little staying power on any level, and riffs are Gothenthrash fodder at best, pulling together some nice weaving powerchords on "Paramount Authority," but this is offset by the vapid verses. Why do these bands sleepwalk through the verses? Especially when there is no moneyshot anywhere else!

Chugging and staccato melodeath space-filler dominates Point Zero Solution, with traces of distinction popping up on sections of "Beyond Reason," which has some decent Mors Principium Est riffs cooking in there along with some viable synths, which are sorely underused in the proper context sadly. "Dark Dream Dawn" has its heavier moments and opens promisingly, but leave it to Deals Death to siphon all potential with what kinda sounds like... Deathstars? That sounds like Deathstars, other parts sound like Shade Empire with the pianos gliding along the rising surge of the symphonics, while the guitars almost always wallow in hopelessness. It's hardly a situation we haven't seen before, but damn how is this band not being called out for this shit? Maybe I am underestimating the rot that has overtaken much of this subgenre lately, and this is a good album to use as an exemplar.

Wow, this was meaningless. Deals Death simply sound featureless on Point Zero Solution. One or two songs have their moments, but otherwise its an exercise in witnessing DOA riffs crumble against a backdrop of soundtrack-esque synths. Ekman's average (at best) vocals aside, it sounds like some filler backing music used to hype some upcoming video game trailer. It's just so vapid, and a good reason to avoid these Swedes in favor of just about... any other act with comparable resources. How is this band even popular? Points for the competent keyboards, but it is a waste of a good performance, particularly on the closer "Author of Arts." Otherwise, no dice.