Review Summary: On Coven, Delta-S offer up a synthwave album that suffers from its derivative soundscapes and, at times, clichéd songwriting.
When I dive head first into an album boasting a concept based on the overdone world of Vampires I hope to ascertain some original ideas that breathe fresh air into what has become a rather stale fixture in fiction writing. Unfortunately, upon listening to Coven, it becomes fairly clear that there will be no fresh material or breakthrough ideas presented in the confines of this album. Not only are we given unoriginal lyrical constructs, Coven also feels dated in the instrumentals and overall atmosphere exhibited. Coven, although carrying some solid material, fails to impress or standout from other releases of its kind.
Coven is filled with moments of clichéd spoken word deliveries and boring samples. Opening track “Letters to the Lost” would likely be an enjoyable opener if not for the cheesy spoken word intro which fails to set the tone of the album properly and if anything will deter many from wanting to trudge further. I’d like to say these spoken word bits only occurs here but are often dispersed throughout the album and only dampen and distract from the concept. Aside from these spoken segments, we are given samples that sound like they belong in the realms of Hot Topic in the early 2000’s. Tacky quotes like “There is horror beyond yours” and “I want to become a vampire” are included among the innumerable lousy samples used in the album.
Sonically speaking, there are loads of expected and straight forward electronic beats. They are well enough produced but lack any unique qualities. The industrial metal elements also fail to supply enough break ups from the electronic elements at play. Delta-S implement riffs in a stale chugging manner and lack much technicality or power in their deliveries. For example, the chugging that backs behind the beats in “Rage Into Blindness” and the riff in the middle of “Bad Kitty” which quite literally loops the same three or four notes for 30 seconds straight.
Majority of the time on Coven we are provided vocals that fail to impress or stand out. Tracks like “Omen” and “Bad Kitty” come off as feeble attempts to harness the vocal prowess of contemporaries like Marilyn Manson, which Lyte unfortunately does not have the knack for. Lyte contains little range to his vocals and when he attempts these brooding deliveries that are almost whispered or grunted it often times kills any momentum the electronic elements have going for them. The redeeming vocal moments here tend to come when female guest vocals are presented into the mix like on “Rage Into Blindness”, “We Are The Ravens” or on closer “Decieved.”
Although faltering due to its lack of originality, there are moments of appeal to this record in both its approach to songwriting and its execution of its concept. The moments where Lyte truly shines vocally tend to be the more drawn back moments. “Death By Dawn” serves as a love track with some heartfelt vocal deliveries that showcase the range in which Lyte is best suited to. The simplistic yet atmospheric subtlety of the instrumental does well to provide backing behind the crooning vocals. The closing moments on album opener “Letters To The Lost” and “Bad Kitty” blend the industrial metal and electronics into lovely crescendos that are only dampened by some cheesy samples or spoken word deliveries that follow these moments.
Coven is a release that shows some small glimmers of hope and the possibility of a strong release in the future. However, on this release Delta-S fail to achieve anything above mediocrity as a whole. The contrived attempt at a Vampire-themed concept album only serves as more reason (in my eyes) that this area of fiction writing should be avoided at all costs. Delta-S show moments of potential for strong songwriting. There are even times where the instrumentals and vocals do work in an effective manner but unfortunately are diminished by some outdated ideas that hinder the brief moments of enjoyment.
