Time Signature Where groove meets melody...

Genre: melodic modern metal

Dead Earth Politics have chosen to release their material in small packages, this being the most recent in a string of EPs and just one full-length effort. Well, I guess the principle that good things come in small packages applies here.

The listener is treated to five tracks which, true to Dead Earth Politics' style, combine melodic elements from traditional metal with groove metal and a tad of thrash metal. All five tracks are considerably melodic and, rather than just churning out one pentatonic riff after another, Dead Earth Politics deploy melodic twin guitars and somewhat sophisticated song structures. Just check out 'Balancing the Broken Scales' or 'Wretched Things'. The choruses are also very melodic and have a certain sing-along appeal. In fact, while there are groovy elements, this EP has much more in common with both traditional metal and melodic modern metal than your stereotypical groove metal.

For a self-released EP, the production is very good, and professionalism emanates from the release. The songwriting displayed on the album is top notch, and the band's affinity for melody is particularly attractive. The vocals have a dark feel to them and are perhaps best described as falling somewhere between black album era James Hetfield and "Draconian Times" Nick Holmes peppered with a couple of growls and screams.

I was very positively surprised with this EP. Fans of melodic modern metal should definitely check this one out.

adg211288 The Queen of Steel (2014) is an EP release by US metal act Dead Earth Politics. It is their first release since their debut album The Weight of Poseidon (2010) and features three tracks. Not the most substantial offering considering how long it's been since the album, but I think one of the more interesting releases I've reviewed this year so far. Not necessarily the strongest, but certainly interesting.

I'm talking about the sound of the music of course. To take a look at The Queen of Steel's artwork, a typical fantasy female in scanty and not at all protective armour sticking a trident into the head of what I presume is a representation of Poseidon (a reference to their album), you'd be forgiven of thinking that the contents of this EP would be in the classic heavy metal or a power metal vein. Well it's closer to the former of the two, but I'd say you'd be wrong overall. What we really have hear is something that sounds both old school and modern at the same time, the band combining classic heavy metal that has some quite distinct Iron Maiden vibes to it with a more modern groove metal sound that adds some Pantera to the mix, especially with the vocals although there is clean melodic singing too. Of the three songs I'd say Redneck Dragonslayer and Madness of the Wanderer lean more towards groove metal while the title track features a largely more traditional sound. Madness of the Wanderer is my personal favourite of the bunch.

On paper I'd say that this mix isn't the best recipe for success but Dead Earth Politics have surprised me with this one and produced an enjoyable little EP in The Queen of Steel. It not only works but it works very well, so I'd be interested to hear how this sort of thing holds up with a longer playing time. Best thing about it is that the band have released it as a name your price download, which means it can be obtained for free or a donation. I'm not sure their mix will be for everyone, but they certainly won me over quickly enough.