Crashdïet's 'Automaton' - Album Review

It has been great having Crashdïet back in recent years. The Swedish glam metal band were a big part of the Scandinavian sleaze revival that took place towards the end of the 2000s and continued on into the beginning of the 2010s, before seemingly breaking up in 2015 due to the departure of then-singer Simon Cruz part-way through a tour of Japan. Before getting to that point, however, Crashdïet had to overcome plenty of adversity - including the suicide of their original frontman Dave Lepard, who performed on 2005's scene-defining Rest in Sleaze. Many bands would have struggled to carry on following such a tragic event, but both H. Olliver Twisted and Cruz proved that there were still plenty for Crashdïet to say - and by the time Cruz left Crashdïet had four excellent studio albums to their name. For a while it seemed that Crashdïet were truly over, but in 2017 they announced that current frontman Gabriel Keyes had joined the band. This was great news, of course, but the fans were made to wait a further two years before the Keyes era was launched proper. Some sporadic live appearances and a couple of singles helped to tie the fanbase over, but in September 2019 the band's fifth album Rust (which I reviewed here) was finally released. In my opinion Rust is as good as anything that the band had put out previously, and my view on it has only improved since I wrote my review. I also saw the band deliver a furious 30 minute set opening for Skid Row towards the end of 2019, so for me the Rust era of Crashdïet was a fruitful one. I was impressed with Keyes, too, and hoped that he was going to be the frontman that finally stuck with the band for the long-term. The band's core of guitarist Martin Sweet, bassist Peter London, and drummer Eric Young has essentially been in place since 2003 - but neither Twisted nor Cruz stuck around. So far, though, Keyes has done so - and I hope that he continues on in the role for a long time. Crashdïet really do not need to go through another frontman change, but for now that is not on the cards thankfully - as the second album with Keyes at the helm, Automaton, was released back in April. I was looking forward to where Crashdïet would go after Rust, which was pretty typical of their classic sound, but Automaton finds the band seemingly wanting to do things a little differently. It is not a drastic shift in sound, but the album certainly seems a little cleaner and less raw-sounding than their earlier work - and there are a few stylistic choices throughout which I do not think work that well within Crashdïet's established sound. Interestingly Sweet, who has always been the driving force behind the band as a songwriter, has only been involved in the writing in six of the album's 12 tracks - with the dominant force this time being Young. Young has contributed a few songs previously, but this album sees his writing dominate - which is strange considering his on-and-off (and on-going) absence from the band's shows in recent years and complete lack of songwriting credits on Rust.

Following the very short instrumental title track, which is essentially just some atmospheric noise that offers little musically, the album kicks off proper with Together Whatever - one of its singles. The song is a classic-sounding Crashdïet number, and it ensures that the album starts with a bang. Young's drum roll kicks things off, before a crunching Sweet riff soon comes in - with a hooky guitar lead sitting atop it. The song is very catchy, hence it being released as a single, and it is a vocal showcase for Keyes. He is a great frontman, and has a great voice too, with the crunchy, staccato riffing throughout the song's verses being a good backing for his charismatic delivery. The verses are nice and weighty thanks to the riffs and the big presence of London's bass, whilst the choruses are more poppy - with soaring sleazy hooks and some effects-heavy vocals that add some sugar. A shredded guitar solo injects some of Sweet's classic melodic playing into the track, and the song has all of the classic Crashdïet hallmarks - and is another great sleaze anthem from the band. Shine On opens with some pulsing synths, although a barrelling guitar riff soon kicks in - which the synths then double. This is something new for Crashdïet, who have never been big synth users. Their use previously has tended to be subtle, but the keyboards during the song's intro are quite prominent - making the riff sound bigger. They do somewhat round the edges off the riff, however. Crashdïet are at their best when there is a dirty edge to their playing, and the synths do counter that somewhat. When the verses start, however, the synths largely drop away - and the song becomes another sleazy hard rocker. The chorus is particularly memorable, with some irresistible vocal hooks and a varied performance from Keyes who hits some impressive high notes during it. Gang vocals add to the punky nature of the chorus, and a wordless bridge section near the end allows for some additional hooks. No Man's Land opens with a pretty heavy riff, which like the riff for Together Whatever has a melodic guitar lead sitting atop it. The verses see some of the opening heaviness toned down though, as they are generally driven by the bass and drums whilst Sweet adds colour with some guitar textures. The main riff resurfaces for the chorus, though, and the spiky section is a pretty catchy one with some fists-in-the-air gang vocal sections and some pretty heavy drumming from Young. Darker Minds slows the pace down somewhat and goes for a pseudo-ballad vibe. Whilst the change of pace is welcome after three heavier songs, the song is so smooth and poppy that it does not really sound like Crashdïet. The band's previous ballads have still managed to maintain the band's trademark edge, but Darker Minds is very sugary - and reminds me more of a band like The Struts than Crashdïet. It is not a bad song, and the chorus hook is very memorable, but it is the first real example here of the band showcasing a sound that is lacking in their trademark sleaze - although the main riff for Shine On somewhat did that too.

Dead Crusade gets the album back on track in a big way though, with the sugary nature of the previous song immediately replaced with a grinding mid-paced riff. The song is possibly the heaviest that the band have ever sounded, and it hits harder following the semi-ballad that preceded it. Sweet's riffing throughout has a satisfying crunch and rhythm, whilst Youngs' drumming is punchy - with choice use of double bass fills when necessary to add to the overall heaviness. Despite this heaviness, though, there is still enough of the band's trademark sleaze sound to make it sound like Crashdïet. The chorus has more gang vocals and call-and-response melodies - and another great solo from Sweet makes the song stand out with its weight and screaming melodies. Powerline, which features guest vocals from Michael Starr (L.A. Guns; Steel Panther), is another pretty poppy track. The chorus is pretty AOR-centric, and sounds like something from a Frontiers Records (which is ironic as Crashdïet are no longer signed to Frontiers) release with its layers of vocal harmonies and fairly typical AOR-esque hooks. It is a decent chorus, though, and the melodies stick in the brain even if it does not really sound much like Crashdïet. The rest of the song generally does though, with some more decent Sweet riffing throughout - and another big bass presence from London. I am not really sure what Starr brings to the song, though. For me, Keyes is a better singer and I feel like the Steel Panther hype bubble has well and truly burst at this point - so having Starr on the album is not likely to be the commercial pull that it would have been a few years ago. Resurrection of the Damned is another heavier piece, and the Keyes/Sweet composition sounds like it could have sat on Rust back in 2019. The song is one of the best on the album in my opinion, and it is a great example of the band's trademark sound. There is little of the smoother production which has generally been used throughout the album, as Sweet's riffs have plenty of bite to them - whilst London's bass punches through the speakers in the way that it tended to do on the band's older albums. The chorus is a feast of hooks, too, and showcases Keyes' vocal power in a big way. It is the sort of song that shows why he was hired by the band, and the chorus might be my favourite individual moment on the album thanks to its sleazy grooves and soaring vocal hooks. We Die Hard reins in the heaviness somewhat, and injects some poppier vibes back into the band's sound, but there is still enough of a sleazy edge to make the song a winner for me. It sounds a bit like Chemical from 2010's Generation Wild - which for me was a good example of how Crashdïet can write a very poppy song and still sound like themselves. Songs like Darker Minds and Powerline cross the line at times for me, but We Die Hard still sounds like Crashdïet. There is a sleazy vibe throughout the song, and it is not filled to the brim with overly-processed backing vocals or hooks that have come straight from a pop album - with the exception of a low key bridge section which is used for effect rather than as a dominant overall sound.

Shell Shock is a crunchy mid-paced rocker that reminds me generally of the sound that Crashdïet cultivated on 2007's The Unattractive Revolution. There is a slightly darker vibe throughout the song, although there is still a bit of a sleazy feel thanks to some big grooves and a number of riffs that would certainly go down well live. Considering the synths that have been used elsewhere on the album, as well as the song's heaviness, Shell Shock is actually one of the album's most atmospheric pieces. There are moments that sound quite dark and expansive with clean guitar melodies and ringing basslines, whilst other moments explode with hard-hitting mid-paced guitar riffs - as well as plenty of punchy gang vocal moments during the choruses which really push the song forward. Unbroken sounds like it is going to be a ballad thanks to a quiet opening, but this is a bit of a red herring as it soon explodes with another big riff. It is a much faster song, and the pace is generally pretty high throughout. Parts of the verses slow things down a little, but on the whole the song is one that injects some of the band's punky energy back into the proceedings. It reminds me of a poppier version of Down With the Dust from Generation Wild, which was another Young-penned track that steamed along at a fast pace. The chorus here sounds quite a bit poppier, though, with some strong vocal hooks and layering - but it works well thanks to the overall high-energy nature of the song and the conviction of Keyes' vocal delivery. The album comes to a close with the Sweet-penned ballad I Can't Move On (Without You), which is an acoustic-based song that features an emotional vocal performance from Keyes, but as a whole it falls a little flat for me - especially when considered in its context as an album closer. Despite lots of poppy moments, the album as a whole has generally been pretty upbeat and hard rocking - so ending it with an acoustic ballad does not really work for me. Many albums have made this stylistic choice work, but I feel like the album's songs should have been rearranged so that it could end with a bang. The song does eventually kick in at the end for the final chorus, but for me this is not enough to give the album the powerful end that it deserved. The song itself is enjoyable, and certainly more in-keeping with Crashdïet than Darker Minds - but it feels a bit limp as a closing cut. Overall, then, for me Automaton is a strong record on the whole that is let down by a few songs that do not do that much for me. The heavier songs and the classic Crashdïet sleaze moments find the band sounding as good as ever, but those songs which push the pop melodies to the fore and shave off the jagged edges with synths end up sounding poorer for it. There is still a lot to enjoy here for the sleaze fan, though, and many of these songs would fit into the band's live repertoire nicely.

The album was released on 29th April 2022 via Crusader/Golden Robot Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Together Whatever.