It is a bit unorthodox for a band to have its final show also be its debut CD release show, but that’s exactly what Milwaukee natives A Place for the End did last Saturday. The hybrid debut/farewell show took place at Hartford Town Hall in Milwaukee’s suburbs, and also featured Level the City, Kingmaker, Narrow Hearts and Wolves, with local death metal mainstay A Night at the Chalet headlining.

As is usually the case at local shows, the crowd was easily more than 100 people and all received gold stars for energy and  participation, probably due in large part to the fact that many of the audience members are in bands themselves and are friends with all the bands on the bill. That it was two-year veterans of the scene A Place for the End’s farewell/debut tour certainly did not hurt the turnout. 

Although it wasn’t the headliner, A Place for the End got the rare opportunity to play all but two songs on its entire album Hollow, something not generally done, even by big name metal acts – perhaps another benefit of the local atmosphere. Of course, you may be asking yourself why a band would disband after finally putting out material for the public; the answer is a new band, Deadweight, that is the phoenix rising from A Place for the End’s ashes.

Deadweight is composed of the same members from A Place for the End, and vocalist Cade Armstrong, formerly of Madison local group Guardians, said the name change was necessary for members to take their music more seriously. During their time writing full-length songs, they had become “a whole different band” because of countless member changes and increased determination. 

“We finally have a solid lineup, and it is the first time we’ve had the refreshing feeling that everyone in the band is on the same page and level of commitment,” Armstrong said. The final lineup, for the foreseeable future at least, consists of Armstrong on vocals, Peter Stanislawski shredding on guitars, Dave Tarantino holding down the low end on bass and Cody Ratley keeping the band locked in on drums.

Thankfully, the new Deadweight has largely moved away from the breakdown-peppered nature of A Place for the End’s earlier material. The new sound is much more straight metal oriented, and Armstrong said their songwriting influences come from such renowned acts as Veil of Maya, The Black Dahlia Murder and After the Burial (mainly in the off-time polyrhythms – see “De-Evolution,” the closing track from Hollow, rather than the ’80s shred-guitar worship that permeates every After the Burial track. 

On the songwriting process, the vocalist had this to say: “Our songwriting process is very, very group-oriented. We work really well together and always come to an agreement quickly. We jam song ideas and throw ideas around, and the songs slowly take shape. Peter [Stanislawski] often comes up with ideas, and Cody [Ratley] spices them up.” 

Armstrong’s brutal, vicious, yet extraordinarily intelligible vocal delivery is influenced by progressive deathcore act The Contortionist, as well as Milwaukee’s resident metalcore monster Misery Signals. 

While Hollow is not a concept album in that it tells a specific, linear story, Armstrong said the album’s lyrics depict an amalgamation of “how people are taking advantage of everything. … We are going to be what eventually destroys this planet.”

With these themes, it is evident that Armstrong’s lyrics are also influenced by The Contortionist, as these ideas are outlined in 2010’s Exoplanet in the form of a true concept album. The Contortionist similarities keep coming in the album artwork for Hollow, done by Cameron Latham of Midnight Society, which bears striking resemblance to the previously noted Exoplanet. Of course, these evocations of the stellar progressive deathcore group say a lot about the quality of music that Deadweight is putting out; after all, if you are going to draw parallels with another band, it may as well be a great one.

The reinvented Deadweight has a bright future if it builds on the evolution that is evident throughout its debut album Hollow, which, happily, can be downloaded for name-your-price via the band’s Bandcamp page (deadweightofficial.bandcamp.com). 

The band’s progression is blatantly obvious when listening to older A Place for the End tracks such as “Robotech” and “Jack’s Folklore” in comparison to title track “Hollow Earth” and excellent closer “De-Evolution.” The interludes, particularly the groove-laden, winding penultimate track “Taunt” (in which, gasp, Tarantino’s bass has a starring role) serve well to break up the vicious onslaught that comprises the rest of
the album, even if the only metal element they are lacking is vocals.

As for when this future will come, straight from the mouth’s mouth, “We will be recording an EP in the very near future, and we are talking with our best friends in Kingmaker about a tour later this summer.” 

To stay up-to-date on Deadweight’s every (Hollow) Earth-shaking step, follow them on Facebook (facebook.com/deadweightofficial) and Twitter (@deadweightwi).