Night Electric Night [Bonus Tracks]

Deathstars' style is known as "deathglam" among the fans (it was the working title of Night Electric Night), but the Occam's razor doesn't really warrant such a specific label, since the band basically plays bouncy pop industrial blended with a dose of goth metal (no big novelty, either). During their best -- that's to say, most dynamic -- moments, Deathstars are pretty similar to Rammstein, utilizing the same brand of simplistic heavy riffs and "get your tushy in gear" rhythms; the synth textures lend a grim, theatrical atmosphere to the music, and the vocalist (who goes by "Whiplasher Bernadotte") tips it all off with some deeply sinful crooning and occasional snarling. The lyrics are in English, not German, but it doesn't matter, since Deathstars aren't here to challenge Bob Dylan. What's more important is that Deathstars' flair for dark pomp never lets them become as recklessly ferocious as Rammstein: they're too serious to be just a Cirque du Soleil for the Marquis de Sade. Neither are they as decadent as Marilyn Manson; instead, the group rocks out the gothic way, coming off like Lake of Tears with melodic black keyboards when they're on and overdoing the maudlin thing when they're not -- the album features a good deal of slower, more epic moments that don't impress as much as the heavier parts simply because the band trades hooks for melodrama. A typical flaw, but then again, Night Electric Night's main problem is that it sounds typical -- at times derivative to the point of quotation. Deathstars aren't copycats, but it's possible to list out their influences and analogies completely, leaving nothing that's particular for the band in question. The group compensates for this with an array of nice hooks and riffs (though the record still has some filler), but ultimately, the amount of fun to be derived from Night Electric Night depends on the listener's ability to block the "same deal, different package" feeling. ~ Alexey Eremenko