Deafcon5 - 2024 - Exit To Insight

(56:25; Fastball Music)

Track list:
1. Prologue 3:35
2. Caught In 6:54
3. As I Am 4:11
4. Disaffection 4:01
5. Escape Route 6:57
6. Self-Delusion 6:34
7. Serious Doubts 5:37
8. Disequilibrium 7:45
9. Trip to Me 8:42
10. Who I (Really) Am 2:10

Line-up:
Michael Gerstle  - vocals
Dennis Altmann - guitars
Frank Feyerabend - keyboards, synthesizers
Frank Schwaneberg - bass
Sebastian Moschüring - drums, samples


Prolusion.
German band Deafcon5 have a history that can be traced back to 2008, although it did take then band a little more time before they became a stable unit. But from 2012 and onward they have released new material at a regular pace, with four studio albums to their name as of 2024. The most recent of these, "Exit to Insight", was released in the summer of 2024 through German label Fastball Music.

Analysis.
The band and their label describe this unit as being in the progressive hard rock and progressive metal vein. And I guess that this is the best categorization to use for the landscapes explored on this album too. But those who tend to enjoy a more intricate and expressive variety of music within the hard rock and metal field may not quite find what they are looking for in this case, as Deafcon5 do explore rather more accessible waters in this case.

What we do get a lot of are arrangements that to my mind at least exist on the borderlands between hard rock and metal. With both guitar dominated passages and a few different variations of the guitar and keyboards combination. The vocals, on the other hand, are powerful and melodic with what I'd describe as a more typical metal style of delivery.

The main progressive elements we get here are the frequent inclusion of gentler, atmospheric laden and occasionally dreamladen opening sections, as well as a tendency to incorporate a gentler type of interlude at some point later on in the song. Occasionally we also get some typical majestic progressive metal style of guitar and keyboard surges that emphasize a more majestic sound, but the compositions in general strikes me as pretty straight forward in nature, other than the aforementioned more careful interludes. Towards the end we do get one song where the progressive rock ideals are explored a bit more in depth though, and while some aficionados may question the progressive spirit found elsewhere, the composition 'Trip to Me' documents quite nicely that this is a band that can be also a bit more on the expressive side of matters as far as progressive hard rock goes.  

Conclusion.
To my ears, this is a band and an album that should appeal just as much if not more towards an audience with a primary interest in a more sophisticated variety of hard rock than it might towards an audience with a primary interest in progressive hard rock or progressive metal. But for those who would define themselves to be a part of the latter demographics, it is those with a penchant for the more accessible aspects of those traditions that I suspect will get the most enjoyment out of this production.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, June 2024

Links:
https://www.deafcon5.de/
http://www.fastball-music.de/