Review Summary: I really have to give this album kudos for maintaining the Deathstars sound, but still adding to it to make it as best as it could get. Ranks up there with Termination Bliss. Although, in my honest opinion, they barely sound anything alike.
You can go and read just about any review on this particular album and hear how much it resembles Termination Bliss, and how boring it is to listen to. I particularly find this album to be a little less than great. Although, if you came directly out of Termination Bliss and tried to listen to this album, you'll definitely notice just how unique it is... You'll also notice some vague resemblances to Termination Bliss in the process.
I'll admit that the first time I listened to this album, I hated it just as much as the next guy... But then I gave it a serious listen a couple months after, and it's grown on me ever since. One of the reasons why I don't think Termination Bliss is as good is because it's got such an absence of any synth. (Compared to Night Electric Night) The synth in Night Electric Night makes up the whole album, for without it, it would be almost an exact copy of Termination Bliss. Obviously, if you compared each album as a whole, you'd see that the synth can be harder to find in one album than the other. Even if you compare the songs "Blitzkrieg" and "Death Dies Hard" you'll see how much of a different sound they have from each other. I'm not saying that Night Electric Night is so much higher above Termination Bliss, but there are just a few perks in Night Electric Night that Termination Bliss lacks.
If you look at the songs in Termination Bliss and then Night Electric Night, anyone would be able to tell you what songs stand out the most and which ones don't, and why. Termination Bliss has all the fan's favorites, including: "Cyanide," "Blitzkrieg," "Motherzone," and even "Death In Vogue" and not to mention that Termination Bliss was the first album that made Deathstars who they are now, so it's obviously going to appeal more to those older Deathstars fans rather than the others.
Let's date back to Deathstar's first EP and Synthetic Generation. The EP really isn't anything to worry about if you're an avid Deathstars fan, since... You could listen to Synthetic Generation and get a great taste of what it's like. Now, people seem to call Night Electric Night a sequel to Termination Bliss. I often ponder the fact if they've even heard Synthetic Generation. Termination Bliss is more of a sequel album to Synthetic Generation than anything! The style between the albums is far more alike than what most people make of Termination Bliss and Night Electric Night.
Let's try to get into the albums a bit deeper. Night Electric Night obviously has more to offer with every song actually sounding different than each other. The introductions to the songs can't get any better, along with the opening vocals that seem to mean more than the rest of the song... Okay, just try listening to "Chertograd," "Death Dies Hard," and "The Fuel Ignites" and the synth will really give you a reason to listen to the rest of the song/album. The reappearing female vocals (very vague, let me add) in a few songs are very much welcomed. It really adds to the whole effect of the album. I could almost say that this album has "clean" vocals compared to the other albums, but it's really your own personal perception on what "clean" vocals really means. The vocal style in this album isn't exactly "unique" when compared to their other albums, but they sure are more catchy than you'd expect. Again, with the songs "Chertograd," "Death Dies Hard," "Venus in Arms," "Arclight," and "The Fuel Ignites," have some pretty catchy chorus lines.
Again, if you're stuck to your old Deathstars ways, then you'll have a harder time enjoying this album as much as their older work. Synthetic Generation and Termination Bliss have that raw feeling, along with catchy vocals and just the whole "feeling." Night Electric Night, may have a few gimmicky sounding songs that will leave you asking yourself "What...?" But I believe that Deathstars really looked upon Termination Bliss and extracted the main sound of it, and then just added to it to make it sound different, yet still maintain the good ol' "Deathstars" sound. Definitely not something to call "bad" by any means. Just "unique."
