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Blog Categories Review Dearly Departed - Heartless - Reviewed By POWERMETAL!

Dearly Departed - Heartless - Reviewed By POWERMETAL! Tuesday November 22 2022, 3:09 PM

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Dearly Departed - Heartless - Reviewed By POWERMETAL ! Check it out here at this link: https://www.powermetal.de/review/review-Dearly_Departed/Heartless,39740.html

Well, as an editor you read a lot of fictitious genre names, but I've never come across Active Rock as such. What is active rock? And what does inactive rock music look like? So in the following lines we will have to form our own impression of the Americans DEARLY DEPARTED, who are presenting their second release with "Heartless". I deliberately avoid the term "album" because with just six songs, the five-piece from Fargo (yes, the city in North Dakota really exists) is more in EP format here.

But first let's solve the mystery of the genre categorization: It turns out that Active Rock is obviously intended to describe a very trendy mixture of Metalcore, modern Alternative Metal of the DISTURBED brand and melancholic Rock in the style of CREED. I have to concede to the Americans that they know how to write catchy hooks, because the opener and title track is catchy and you can sing along to the chorus after just one listen. Especially with the first two numbers of the disc, the emphasis is clearly too much on the melancholic side of the band's sound; The same tracks come out of the speakers with dreamy pop verses and rocking refrains in a predictable way.

'Chasing You' and 'Quiet Echoes' sound a lot more like Metalcore and drive a heavier edge, especially on the six-string side, which suits the quintet well in my ears, but at the same time these two numbers lack the hooklines that close the beginning of the disc were still the biggest plus point of the band in my ears. Only when 'Haunted' and 'Hindsight' add a good pinch of LINKIN PARK to the mix of styles does the recipe suddenly work, because here the balance between heaviness, melody and melancholy is finally right. Especially in the early 2000s, the five would certainly have fitted well into the MTV program, even if the general sound is of course much more modern than that of the representatives of the Nu Metal wave of the time.

All in all, "Heartless" is a sign of life from a young band that is definitely worth listening to, but obviously hasn't quite found its sound yet. Should the tear glands be squeezed in a melancholic way, or does the Fargo band want to present a modern interpretation of Nu Metal? I hope that in the end the choice falls on the latter option, because in my ears the band can play out their potential much better in this sector. POWERMETAL

Release Date:10/14/2022

FFO: Bad Omens, Of Mice & Men, Motionless In White

Location: Fargo, ND

Dearly Departed is a midwest active rock/metalcore band who aims to release songs all the way from melodic hard rock with catchy vocal melodies that'll get stuck in your head to crushing metalcore with intense story and internal conflict that's still appealing to the average listener. Doing nothing half-ass, the Minnesota quintet that makes up Dearly Departed, brings an intense live show, crowd pleasing riffs, and relatable vocals; who’ve supported industry heavy-hitters such as Beartooth, Wage War, Stitched Up Heart, Saving Abel, and more.

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