Dead and Divine's debut, What Really Happened at Lover's Lane, was a sort of first person narrative of the end of the world told told through metalcore with copious amounts of Norma Jean influence. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was a d*mned ambitious debut from a young band on a new label. The Fanciful finds Dead and Divine already following the path that Atreyu blazed four years ago, mixing their ballsy metalcore with a bit more radio-friendly rock. The songwriting is still strong and the lyrics are still more interesting than typical metalcore lyrics stuck in the 'broken hearts and betrayal, loyalty and virtue' mindset. Unfortunately these young men seem to have lost the spark of youth that made there first album stick out from the crowd. Maybe it's the silly f*cking mustaches. Maybe they'll continue down pop avenue and catch up to Atreyu. Or maybe they'll find the spark again next time.
