This group of five came from the Pleiades... Oops, from Germany I mean. 1997 EP 'Cosmic Conspiracy' remain as their sole release. I've never seen this as a physical entity, but the band offers this as a free download on their MySpace.com page. I myself was in the state of exaltation, not only because the music is death metal, but the lyrical contents is sci-fi! But for my displeasure, the downloadable package contains only music, no lyrics, no cover art... So it's the music only I'm commenting on this review.

I think, when not having the lyrics, the music follows the story closely. Therefore the compositions are narrative, not typical verse-verse-chorus kind of affairs. Atmosphere is dark and at times violent. Synthesizers are used, but more like backing up the guitars to lift up the current melody line. They could have been used with more imagination, as some better synth parts here show. The whole reminds me of Psypheria, but not that technical. Also small links can be drawn between both Nocturnus and Theory In Practice. The songs feel pretty much alike, probably the biggest reason for this is the use of same synth sound throughout the EP, but also the lack of hooks. 'Conquest and Enslavement' shows some glimpses of how it could have been, if the band wrote more "catchy" songs. Vocals are one-dimensional and sadly, pretty boring growl. Other musicians' performances are good. The production lacks of power, but is still quite clean and lovely organic (ahh, drums without triggers or that kind of shite).

'Cosmic Conspiracy' EP is a free download, so deathheads with unhealthy affection for sci-fi should try it. And if the aforementioned bands are like anything down yer alley, go get this. I think Starseed tried to be original death metal band, and partly succeeded in it, but without results, that would truly grab a listener. You know the stuff, "I've heard worse..."

Rating: 6 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
09/07/2008 12:30