Deadlock is a German
heavy metal band from
Schwarzenfeld
Schwarzenfeld is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf (district), Schwandorf in Bavaria, Germany. Schwarzenfeld was first mentioned as “Suarzinvelt” on April 17, 1015 in a deed of gift from Emperor Henry II to the diocese of Bamberg. I ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. The band consists of founding member Sebastian Reichl and singer Sabine Scherer.
History
Early days (1997–2001)
Formed in 1997 as a hardcore band by vocalist Johannes Prem, guitarist Sebastian Reichl, and drummer Tobias Graf, they released the
7" vinyl
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
''Deadlock'' in 1999. After this came the EP ''I'll Wake You, When Spring Awakes'' in 2000.
''The Arrival'' and ''Earth. Revolt'' (2002–2006)
2002 saw the release of their first album, ''The Arrival''. The album featured keyboards, orchestral elements and guest clean vocals from Sabine Scherer.
Their second album, ''Earth. Revolt'' was released in 2005. The band had expanded from a quartet to a six-piece with new guitarist Gert Rymen and clean vocalist Sabine Scherer now a full-time member of the band. The album featured a cleaner, more technical style and again employed clean vocals by Sabine Scherer.
''Wolves'' and ''Manifesto'' (2007–2009)
Their third album, ''Wolves'', was released in 2007, and featured prominently electronic and trance influences. The track "Code of Honor" was turned into their first music video. They launched a tour in support of "Wolves" through Europe alongside Neaera and Maintain.
Their fourth album, ''Manifesto'', was released in November 2008. (January 2009 in North America) The song "Deathrace" features
rapping
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...
, while the song "Dying Breed" features clean vocals from former
Scar Symmetry vocalist
Christian Älvestam, and the song "Fire At Will" has a saxophone solo. It also includes a cover of
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...
's "Temple of Love". The track "The Brave/Agony Applause" is the first single of the album and has a music video. They promoted "Manifesto" by playing one new song of the album each day on their MySpace until its European release.
Deadlock announced on a MySpace bulletin on December 12, 2008 that they had parted ways with Thomas Huschka (bassist), citing "musical and personal differences". On May 7, 2009, they announced John Gahlert as their new bassist.
''Bizarro World'' (2010–2011)
Deadlock released their 5th album ''Bizarro World'' in February 2011.
On 2010, Sabine Scherer was guest vocalist and Sebastian Reichl was guest guitarist in the album
Invictus by the German band
Heaven Shall Burn
Heaven Shall Burn is a German extreme metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist Marcus Bischoff, guitarists Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, bassist Eric Bischoff and drummer Christian Bass. They are currently sig ...
in the song "Given in Death".
Line up changes and The Arsonist (2011–2013)
On October 26, 2011, it was announced that founding vocalist/lyricist Joe Prem had left the band, having performed for 14 years. On the 21st November 2011, Deadlock announced via their Facebook page that bassist John Gahlert would become the new harsh vocalist, having previously performed on occasion when Joe Prem was unable to play, and that bass duties would be handled by Ferdinand Rewicki, who had in the past toured with the band under the various guises of driver, tour manager, and "merch guy".
On 8 February 2013, it was announced that guitarist Gert Rymen had decided to part ways with the band, reducing the lineup to a 5 piece. On March 21 of the same year, the band signed to
Napalm Records
Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...
through whom they announced they would release their next album. It will be the first release featuring former bassist John Gahlert on "harsh" vocal duties, and former tour manager Ferdinand Rewicki on bass and rhythm guitar.
The band released its sixth full-length album ''
The Arsonist'' on July 26, 2013.
The Re-Arrival, and Hybris
April 28, 2014, it was announced via the band's Facebook page that Tobias Graf had departed the band, leaving Sebastian Reichl as the only remaining original member. On September 4 it was revealed that Graf had died at the age of 35.
Deadlock released ''The Re-Arrival'' in August 2014, an album of re-makes of songs from earlier albums. In September it was announced that Scherer was beginning her maternity leave, and the band was temporarily replacing her with Margie Gerlitz. On April 28, 2016, it was announced that she was departing the band permanently to spend more time with her family, while also announcing that Gerlitz would become the new clean vocalist.
In May 2016, the band announced their new album ''Hybris'' along with the lead single Berserk. The album was then released on July 8, 2016.
Return of Scherer and "Blackest Black" (2024–present)
On September 28, 2024, the band released a single "Blackest Black", their first new released in 8 years. It also marked the return of former clean vocalist Sabine Scherer, and the confirmed exit of Gerlitz. The release also indicated that Scherer and Reichl are the only active members of the band.
Musical style
Deadlock incorporate
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...
as well as some
metalcore
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
aspects. What makes Deadlock different is the combination of
death growls and female clean vocals. Also included in their sound are techno sections, often used as intros but sometimes used as a whole breakdown section, where a complete genre change takes place. The band used
C tuning on 6-string guitars, until the release of ''
The Arsonist'' in 2013 when they began using drop F tuning on 7-string guitars, strongly influenced from the popular
djent
Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal, termed for an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. While sources such as ''The Guardian'' and ''Guitar World'' describe djent as a Music genre, genre, some notable musicians includi ...
movement.
Deadlock started as a
vegan straight edge band and, while all its members are still vegan (as of 2019), they began to include non-straight edge people since John Gahlert joined. Many of their lyrics (particularly the songs on ''
Manifesto
A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
)'' are about animal rights.
Members
Current members
* Sebastian Reichl – lead guitar, keyboards and backing vocals (1997–present)
* Sabine Scherer – clean vocals and keyboards (2002–2016, 2025–present)
Former members
* "Mike" – bass (1997–1999)
* Hans-Georg Bartmann – bass (1999–2002)
* Thomas Gschwendner – rhythm guitar (2002–2004)
* Thomas Huschka – bass (2002–2008)
* Johannes Prem – harsh vocals, lyrics (1997–2011)
* Gert Rymen – rhythm guitar (2004–2013)
* Tobias Graf – drums (1997–April 2014, died September 2014)
* Margie Gerlitz – clean vocals (2016–2024)
* John Gahlert – harsh vocals (2011–2021), bass (2009–2011)
* Ferdinand Rewicki – rhythm guitar and backing vocals (2013–2024), bass (2011–2015)
* Werner Riedl – drums (2014–2024)
* Christian Simmerl – bass (2015–2024)
Timeline
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bar:rymen text:"Gert Rymen"
bar:mike text:"Mike"
bar:bartmann text:"Hans-Georg Bartmann"
bar:huschka text:"Thomas Huschka"
bar:gahlert text:"John Gahlert"
bar:rewicki text:"Ferdinand Rewicki"
bar:simmerl text:"Christian Simmerl"
bar:graf text:"Tobias Graf"
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bar:simmerl from:01/01/2015 till:28/09/2024 color:bass
bar:graf from:01/01/1997 till:28/04/2014 color:drums
bar:riedl from:28/04/2014 till:28/09/2024 color:drums
Discography
Studio albums
Demos
EPs
Singles
Splits
Music videos
References
External links
Official Homepage*
*
Deadlocka
Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deadlock (Metal Band)
Musical groups established in 1997
German metalcore musical groups
German melodic death metal musical groups
Female-fronted musical groups