Review Summary: It's unlikely that Destine ever will be among the top billed artists on the Warped Tour, which is unfortunate, because even though it's all been said before, Destine does oh so well.
After releasing a bit of a messy second album and being dropped by Rude Records it seemed like the days of Destine were numbered. Then after years with no activity on their social media outlets the band launched a successful kickstarter campaign resulting in what was to become their third full-length album, Forevermore. Many fans including myself were interested in seeing which direction the band were going to take seeing how their second album was quite the departure from their debut. Would they continue the mediocre path of Illuminate, go back to their roots of Lightspeed or try to reinvent themselves for a third time? The answer is as simple as, it was all of those, all at once. Forevermore is a well-balanced summer record which fuses the top notch production value of their second album with the catchiness and original songwriting of their debut. All of this while still bringing in enough new elements to keep it interesting. This coming from a pop punk act is quite a feat in itself.
Uplifting and anthemic would be the best way to describe the album, so if you need a pause from the constant angst ridden pop punk of the present, Destine might be something wroth your time. They deliver a warm and melodic record which in many ways can be looked upon as the European version of Yellowcard's warm welcome that was Southern Air. It's well balanced and catchy enough to keep you coming back for more. Some of the songs like the lead single "Down and Out" clearly stand out as one of the better tracks along with "Stuck in the Middle" and "Forevermore", where as "Heart to Life" or "Demons" probably won't be put in anyone's favorites lists.
It's nothing new, and it won't change your life, but the highs on this album outweighs the lows with a landslide. Too many albums, including Destine's previous records have some solid stand-alone tracks, but as an album, it all falls flat and fail to gain any momentum or replay value. That is where this album shines, where even the weaker tracks are consistently good enough to keep it going without too many bumps in the road and forge a solid and fun summer record.
All in all, Forevermore is what Illuminate should have been, and them some. They have figured out their strengths and played on them. Gone are the songs were one instrument would dominate a whole song, be it vocals, keys or guitars. Destine have crafted a record which showcases the strengths of each band member, they all know their place and are no longer fighting about who deserves more spotlight, this shows especially on "Coming Home" where the vocals, keys, drums, bass and guitars blend seamlessly into each other creating quite the enjoyable summer anthem.
They are in no way reinventing the genre, but with the resurgence of pop punk and its new trademark sound fronted by acts such as Neck Deep and The Story So Far, it's admirable to see Destine sticking to their roots rather than grasping for straws trying to stay relevant. They stuck to their guns and played on their strengths and have made an album which will surprise many on just how solid it actually is. It's unlikely that Destine ever will be among the top billed artists on the Warped Tour, which is unfortunate, because even though it's all been said before, Destine does oh so well.
