DEATHSTARS SYNTHETIC GENERATION ALBUM LED, UNIVERSAL RELEASE: MARCH 25, 2002 REVIEW: MARCH 27, 2002

Let us start with the bad things. Deathstars seem to think it is pretty cool to say "fuck" a lot, they all look like carbon copies of Marilyn Manson, and the members have taken "evil" names like "Whiplasher" and "Nightmare Industries". My metal friends love this band. And even though this band represents a lot of what is bad with the heavy metal genre, I like this album more and more, somewhat against my will. Like my colleague Kalle Malmstedt said in his review of the single, the fact remains that the band sure knows how to make catchy electro metal tunes.
In the vein of Rammstein, Pain, Marilyn Manson etc, Deathstars have concocted a mix of electronics and hard guitars, and added sing-a-long melodies on top. A proven recipe for success these days, and it works here as well. Every song has a chorus that bites hard into your subconscious, and stays there for a long time. The chuga chuga guitars are well complemented by the harsh vocals - sometimes with a vocoder - and blipping synth lines.
For a debut album this is a very good effort, but that may stem from the fact that all members have been doing music for a long time in death metal bands Swordmaster and Dissection. The singer Whiplash does a fair job growling the juvenile lyrics about death, destruction and anger, but his performance is not very different from one song to another. Actually, that is my main gripe with the album as a whole. All songs sound very much alike, and not one of them strays from the proven formula.
But as I said, I know a lot of people who is in love with this band already after the first single "Synthetic Generation", and this album will be a big hit with that crowd. If you can put away your prejudices, you will like this band too.

JOHAN CARLSSON