Melodeath fans rejoice. You might remember them from their debut album Time Tears Down from 2013. Parasite Inc. after 5 years of absence has returned to the scene with a new album “Dead and Alive”, released on 17 August through Reaper Entertainment.
So how has the band developed their sound since their debut? “Dead and Alive” is more consistent as a whole. The band proved to have an energetic sound already beforehand but elaborate by adding more diversity into the album. The tracks combine elements such as raging riffs and swift keyboard melodies that remind of early Children of Bodom. What’s nice in the keyboard melodies is that they don’t overrule the record. They add an extra dimension in the songs, that gives a really refreshing angle into the realm of melodic death metal.
On the one hand, the band includes songs into the mix like “Headfuck Rollercoaster” for instance. The track is drenched with groovy mid-tempo riffs. The grooviness definitely makes the song deadly catchy and with its blazing speed, it’s a track that I can keep listening to for hours without getting bored. They are not afraid to experiment a bit more with extra melody lines added by keyboards, which songs like “Sunset Overdrive” and “Cold Silent Hell” bring forward. The album ends with a smart cover of a synthwave song “Empty Streets”, which the band managed to turn into their own masterpiece.
Personal highlights for me on this album are “This World”, “Fall of the Idealist”, the title track and of course, “Headfuck Rollercoaster”. However, I would say it’s a mild preference, as I mentioned earlier, all the tracks on “Dead and Alive” are killer songs, there are no songs that are just included to fill up space on this record.
So, all-in-all the band managed to offer a consistent and energetic melodic death metal album, which is gloomy, grim, melancholic, but also atmospheric. You will be immersed into Parasite Inc.’s atmosphere which incorporates elements from punk, thrash and even 80s synth rock. By adding all these elements into one, you get a surprisingly refreshing sound that sometimes reminds of old Children of Bodom. “Dead and Alive” is a fine piece of melodic death metal, that many who love the genre will definitely enjoy.
Lineup
KAI BIGLER (VOCALS, GUITARS)
BENJAMIN STELZER (DRUMS)
STEFAN KRÄMER (BASS)
DOMINIK SORG (GUITARS)
Tracklist
1. Countershock
2. Once and for All
3. This World
4. Fall of the Idealist
5. Headfuck Rollercoaster
6. Flesh Decadence
7. Red Wine Collider
8. Sunset Overdrive
9. Cold Silent Hill
10. Dead and Alive
11. Empty Streets (Cover)
Links
https://www.parasiteinc.de
https://www.youtube.com/user/ParasiteIncOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/ParasiteInc
https://www.instagram.com/parasiteincofficial
