Review Summary: worthy of indifference and nothing more.
Dead By April is often treated as a troll of the music industry. Continuing this image, fans of the band have not only been feeding the troll, but they’ve also crowned it, and made it ruler of their kingdom. It really does seem like a band to either love or hate, but to throw you all off, let me propose something. Although this album is worthy of some hate, I believe it is more worthy of indifference. They aren't particularly good, but that doesn't mean that the album tastes and smells like a slop of dog's sick. No, Dead By April make average music - nothing more, nothing less.
Dead By April borrow as much from ‘N sync as they borrow from In Flames, Dark Tranquility, etc. The result is a brand of metal that isn’t actually that unique. Sure, there may be more screaming and metalcore riffs than your average alternative metal band, but that’s exactly what this is – alternative metal. Albeit catchier than usual, they aren’t doing much to separate themselves from any modern rock bands out there. You might get the occasionally heavier songs (‘Angels of Clarity’, and ‘Stronger’), but that’s pretty much it.
If there’s anything to complain about, it has to be the horrible songwriting. The entire album has the let’s-rush-as-quickly-to-the-chorus-as-possible syndrome, and once they get there, they repeat it endlessly. For a while it’s alright because the choruses are pretty good, but then the second half comes. As expected, Dead By April’s songwriting failures come back to bite them in the butt, as songs get progressively poopier with each bite. They didn't even have the courtesy to wipe up their mess with a bit of toilet paper.
Dead By April do a lot of things wrong, but they also do a lot of things right. With the addition of many piano parts (like Evanescence), and prolific synthesizer work, strong melodies are pushed and make the songs more memorable than they have right to be. Combined with an appropriately melodic singer with very smooth vocals,
Dead By April is rather easy on the ears. Easily listenable metal/rock, this is truly radio material. The entire album sounds like a combination of ‘N sync’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’, and 30 Seconds To Mars’ ‘The Kill’, so yes, it’s incredibly generic but still enjoyable. Ultimately,
Dead By April is a fairly forgettable alt metal effort that could be a guilty pleasure for some, but should mostly be avoided.
