ALBUM REVIEW: Echoes Of A Dreamless Life – E.B. & The Deadlights
While not a wholly popular genre now, shock rock still carries some esteemed names. ALICE COOPER for example had a chokehold on the rock scene throughout the 80s for his less than savoury content. As time’s gone on, the likes of ROB ZOMBIE and since disgraced MARILYN MANSON picked up the mantle. While some groups have used the gimmick of mimicking corpse paint as a launch pad – BLACK VEIL BRIDES for example – others remain steadfast to the black and white make up, including E.B. & THE DEADLIGHTS who release their debut album Echoes Of A Dreamless Life.
Echoes Of A Dreamless Life may be the Irish brood’s first full-length, but E.B. & THE DEADLIGHTS, led by Ethan Beatie (vocals), have already shared the stage with the likes of PRIEST and DOYLE. On the heels of 2021’s EP Still See Ghosts, the quartet set their sights on the long form tribute to all things macabre.
Tinkling pianos of Endless Hope start proceedings. Seems relatively serene for a shock rock band, doesn’t it? Confusion moves to the side as blasts of static separate serenity from terror as radio broadcasts depict a flurry of murders or otherwise violent attacks. As riffs akin to THE MISFITS cut through the static, we’re introduced to Beatie’s vocals. Talks of “another fairy tale heading straight for Hell” aren’t exactly new and neither are the tones of Beatie’s voice. What does strike us as odd though is the monotone nature. Perhaps it’s leaning into the realms of TYPE O NEGATIVE but even the backing “woah”s at various interludes come across as lacklustre. That seems to be the word of the hour as the corresponding guitar solo goes nowhere and doesn’t add anything to the track.
Falling Away reads like ALICE COOPER’s Brutal Planet in terms of gritty vocals and a driving riff compelling us to “put a bullet through a Bible”. Slower riffs carry a buoyancy to them. Perhaps this should have opened the album instead as the growls from Beatie definitely pique the attention. We’re treated to a sliver of Maciek Zaworski’s basslines which lend a funk vibe to the track… yes, funk in shock rock, it’s not that unheard of. Is it? Meanwhile Pain That I Need has E.B. & THE DEADLIGHTS going straight back into the lacklustre feel of the opening track. Granted, things aren’t quite as monotonous as before as we’re given growls and lusciously grunge style instrumentals, but there’s something particularly gnawing about this pain. A low and slow guitar section leads us towards “eternity in the darkness” but in context of the rest of the track, which is arguably higher and much faster, it doesn’t quite fit.
Recent single Heaven Into Hell leads with the typical sirens of doom and a catchy instrumental. Lowered vocals make a welcome return as E.B. & THE DEADLIGHTS finally find a vibe which suits them. Until the energy is ramped up and the moment is all but gone. The status quo may return after the chorus but we’re left wondering why the pace was changed to begin with. However, we can have too much of a good thing as the band seem to go completely the other way, leading with a maudlin instrumental which confuses the track entirely. Hollow Eyes gives us a little more of what we want with its atmospherics, radiating bass and eerie fret work. But again it’s the vocals which let the track down as they sit too high for the mood to be sustained. Yes, there may be a hefty breakdown in the song’s dying throes but the pacing of it once again jars the flow of things.
When leading into Art Of Death and its jumbled introduction, the wheels have surely fallen off the hearse. Art Of Death redeems itself slightly with its punk influences coming out swinging. Yet again though, E.B. & THE DEADLIGHTS get onto a good thing then veer off track as a slower chorus digs its heels in and demands the attention. A guttural from Beatie towards the end of the track leads into what can only be described as a mediocre breakdown to a song which had the potential to stand out.
The closing ménage à trois doesn’t come a moment too soon as our attention begins to wane. Kill Your Answers is full of frantic screams and killer confusion as pacing is again experimented with to no avail. Fatal Violence tries to stand out from the crowd with a presumed rap section and its nu-metal-cum-hardcore tendencies. Rather than being the illustrious black sheep of the family which many could strangely gravitate towards, it becomes a bastard son no one wants to claim, while closer Dreamless Life stands at just under five minutes long but registers as inoffensive at best.
If we had to describe Echoes Of A Dreamless Life in one word, it would simply be hollow. The casing is pretty enough with spatterings of great guitar work amid melancholy themes but the deeper dive gives us nothing fruitful. As bands such as GHOST and VV prove, the age of the macabre is still going strong, yet this feels so flat. Perhaps left to bake a while longer, E.B. & THE DEADLIGHTS could have been onto something, but it seems this one went straight for the mortuary slab.
Rating: 4/10
Echoes Of A Dreamless Life is out now via self-release.
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