Orlando hard rockers Dark Divine released their new album Deadly Fun (deluxe) on October 4.
I’ve been listening to a lot of hard rock lately but I have to say that the darkness Dark Divine have in their sound makes it stand out already.
The titular track opens with a haunting monologue about the supernatural before the track kicks in. It’s more of a metalcore sound, with the chorus a bit akin to Blessthefall in terms of the vocal style. It also has a good breakdown.
The album is quite varied in sound too, with an almost dance rock feel to Drown with its upbeat synths and soaring chorus.
The lyrics are extremely relatable throughout the album, particularly in Terrifier and Paper Crown which has one of the catchiest choruses with “you know your paper, paper crown is torn apart because we’re breaking, breaking down, we’re not invincible, you’re not untouchable, perfectly capable of starting a fire, so burn it to the ground.”
The Reaper is also a stand out track. The opening lyrics will be relatable to many who have suffered from mental health struggles (as will all of the album) but the change from the pretty basic introduction to one of the heaviest songs on the album is fantastic, and the synths help to add to the craziness of the track, giving it more of a feel of how thoughts are running through your head at a million miles an hour.
My favourite thing about Deadly Fun is its variety of good quality songs. Many acts under the ‘hard rock’ genre will churn out an album very set in its ways, but the combinations of clean and melodic vocals and variety in the pace throughout the album is fantastic. You have the more heavier side of the album with the titular track and Dancing Dead, the latter giving me an early Motionless In White feel during the verses but the transition between the heaviness of the verse and the clean rock is perfect. I think it’s my stand out song on the album. And then the album has more rocky sounds with Cold and even some boyband style harmonies like in Terrifier.
The instrumentation throughout is absolutely top notch. The guitar lines are sick and the drum fills are fabulous.
If you like modern metal and rock, this is definitely an album and band for you. Dark Divine have really impressed me with this album.