Dead Is Forever – The ‘Open Your Eyes’ EP.
Dead Is Forever – Chester, England, United Kingdom.
In March of this year, Chester based Dead Is Forever released their debut EP under the name of Open Your Eyes. Why should this matter? Well, Dead Is Forever are at base a Metalcore band, a genre that exploded in the earlier 2000’s into countless bands that have either been and gone or morphed into something very different or just something more.
Metalcore is a genre that is either quite simply “pulled off” or at best generic and stagnant. Any band propagating such a direction need to have something to keep them relevant or at least, to be blunt, take the standard and make a good go of it.
\\Open Your Eyes//
‘Code Red’ is a an enjoyable quirk with it’s missile silo alarm and film soundbite and informs you of the shredded brutality that is to come.
Positioning a title track this early in the track listing is a bold move. ‘Open Your Eyes’ carries a clear mid-to-late Bring Me The Horizon influence, in it’s deep and menacing growls and soaring clean vocal melodies.
Musically it’s what you’d expect for the the majority of the song’s airtime, with the mid-placed chorus leading the track onto something akin to early A Day To Remember before they decided to embrace more of their Pop-Punk affiliation.
‘Photosensitivity’ is more more on the money so to speak. A re-hash of an earlier recording, it’s intro eludes to a Tech-Metal influence reminiscent or early Architects, with the verse and vocal scourge stronger and darker than in the previous track.
The guitar melodies, backing vocals and clean vocals in and around the chorus are a strong point and don’t feel quite as forced as they did in the previous number, but could benefit from a harder tone to match the duel-growl lead.
That said the pre-chorus’s prowess is a highlight, with the contrast between the backing and lead vocals preparing you for the impending melodic chorus, similar to genre notables, Still Remains.
The opening riff on track four, ‘Pharaoh’, is the differentiation you’ve been waiting for. Sitting closer to a more typical Metal and Metallic Hardcore sound, the welcome old-school tempo isn’t expected and a highlight before the band’s typical melodic chorus takes point again, boasting the band at their most brutal and most melodic interchangeably.
A hint of the cited influence of Deftones proudly displays itself in ‘Fades’, with yet another change-up and melodic vocals taking charge, into a Nu-Metal track cut with mid 2000’s Metalcore.
Open Your Eyes, by it’s last foray of sound is not the same EP it was when it began it’s journey. Dead Is Forever are the same band but enough progression in their stylistics has taken place that a whole new depth has been uncovered.
‘Something Left’ is still very much the token melodic yet crushing Metalcore but by now with more of a progressive and Hardcore driven structure, with enough other influences along the way, that as an EP, it’s broken free from the “more of the same” label.
You can find Dead Is Forever and their music below:
- Head to Facebook and Twitter for updates.
- The bands music can be found on bandcamp for ‘Free/Name Your Price’ download.
- For videos, head to their Youtube Channel.
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