DEADLOCK is a German Melodic Death Metal band, who combine Metal with the harsh atmospheric nature of today's modern sounds.  The band features a female clean vocalist and a male harsh vocalist, and have released three albums to date.  The collection we have here is a mostly all new material, with a few re-issued from the "Wolves" album.  "Re-Arrival" contains fifteen tracks.  Being familiar with their past two albums, I was excited at the chance to review this.  "An Ocean's Monument" is the opening track.  It has a lot of low end bombast, and fierce death vocals, which just pour into a clean bliss of melody in the chorus.  The contrast between the two styles here is really quite striking, and there is a lot going on sonically.  One might even go so far as to add "Symphonic Metal" into the hashtag.  "Code of Honor" has a great opening riff, electronica, and over-the-top arrangement that remind me of the mighty EPICA.  The slow, pensive ending really adds some musical depth to the soundtrack, and showcases the beautiful frailty of Sabine's voice.  "The Brave/Agony Applause" is a perfect example of the combination of extremes we find in this genre of Metal.  Sabine takes the lead and John augments the soaring melody with pure agony.  "Dark Cell" is surely one of my favorite tracks on the album.  It's an easy listening, mid-tempo number, with plenty of hooks among the brutal death vocals.  "Virus Jones" had a sinister quality to it, but one that welcomes some guitar harmonies that at times remind me of IN FLAMES.  The chorus really shines here, like a beacon of light over dark and turbulent seas.

In "A New Era," Sabine once again takes the vocal leads, but at times she and John sing in unison, which really thickens the sound.  I really like the commitment to melody here at the forefront of this song.  "We All Shall Bleed" is downright radio friendly, and I mean that in the most positive of ways.  It's an anthem of sorts to me, perhaps the song that sums up the band's approach best.  Still, it suffers from no loss of Death Metal punch and harshness.  I like the aggression in "Martyr to Science," before the chorus brightens up the mysterious electronic landscape, complete with pronounced guitar squeals.  "Awakened By Sirens 2014" has a pleasing keyboard presence, and a nice push and pull between melody lines and brutality.  This is another song that I feel really showcases the band's full songwriting capabilities.  Then, we have the gentle sway of "To Where the Skies are Blue."  What a simple, but powerful song.  Just piano, Sabine's beautiful voice, and a despondent message.  "Htrae" is a totally unique song as compared to the rest of the album.  It breathes very widely, even at the point where the dark and heavy riffing comes into play.  The drumming on this track in particular is varied and demanding, and the ending part comes to a nice crescendo.

"End Begins" is another really strong track, and I find myself comprehending how evident it is that DEADLOCK is not comfortable putting out anything other than their best on this album.  There isn't a bad track here folks.  Closing the album is the song entitled "The Arsenic River."  Double bass drums quickly give way to anguished screams, followed by a really strong chorus with a key change in a major chord.  This is an outstanding collection of some of the band's best music.  When you think of Melodic Death Metal, this band is not mentioned in the annals of the genre as often as some of more well-known bands. This is a travesty in my opinion.  Many bands in this genre are great with the Death part but not so much on the melody side.  I have always maintained that it is harder to write a good hook or beautiful passage than it is to write brutality.  DEADLOCK does both with equal fervor and meticulous detail, and I urge you to add their albums into your collection.