A Deeper Dreed

Masquerade

Written by: PP on 22/06/2011 02:03:13

I've been neck-deep in reviewing EPs by small and unknown bands from around Europe recently, and this one is no exception. A Deeper Dreed are from Suffolk, UK, and they released their five-track debut EP "Masquerade" earlier this year, a strange mixture of genres that, in my opinion, either sound dated or don't fit together very well. I'm not sure which explanation I prefer.

Lets take the vocals, for instance, which sound like second-rate Brandon Boyd from "S.C.I.E.N.C.E"-era Incubus. You know, back when they were kind of nu-metallish with their crunchy, pseudo-heavy riffs and aggressive clean vocals that occasionally broke out into screams. A Deeper Dreed's vocalist never allows himself to cross the border into screaming though, so you're stuck with cleans from start to finish. It need not be a bad thing, per se, but in this case his vocals are too anonymous and forgettable. They need more power and better melody lines in general. Then there are the instrumentals, which vary between Disturbed style alternative metal, classic heavy metal guitar duels (the scaling guitars in "The Cell" sound like they were stolen from late 80s Metallica songs), and the pseudo-heavy riffs I mentioned earlier.

While the technical detail is alright, there's little evidence of noteworthy songwriting. The tracks are numbingly forgettable, going in one ear and out the next, and I say this after about ten listens through the EP at the very least. It pains me to say this about young bands hoping to breakout, but the songs on "Masquerade" simply aren't interesting. At all. They're not awful either, but I can't say I wasn't bored while listening to the EP.

4

Download: Masquerade
For the fans of: Disturbed meets early Boy Hits Car
Listen: Myspace

Release date February 2011
Self-Released

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