Degreed
Dead But Not Forgotten
Sun Hill Production
2015
They say that the third time is a charm… and if you’re wondering if that goes for the new Degreed album, I would say “yes & no”! Well, first of all, Degreed pick up from where they left off with their previous album “We Don’t Belong”. This AOR, modern rock, pop-rock & melodic rock blending seems to working better on their new album, even though the traditional fans of AOR/melodic rock music won’t find it that interesting in the end.
The Swedish Idol finalist Robin Ericsson is an excellent singer. His voice give that something extra to the tracks. The other guys do a fair job too. I’m not a big fan of this “modern thing” they have on their tracks but the guys know how to write some fine melodies in general. There are tracks, like: “Better Safe Than Sorry”, etc. which can easily be on the airwaves. On the other hand, the album lasts about 52 minutes and contains 14 tracks! That’s too much for a modern melodic rock album. In the end you get too much of the same and you lose interest at long last. They should have featured fewer tracks – the strongest ones… here’s where a label manager comes and offers a fresh look on things, but that’s another story. The production is modern and powerful. The band’s drummer Mats Ericsson engineered, mixed and mastered the album. He did a great job on the whole.
There’s not much to say before I close. “Dead But Not Forgotten” is a good album which features some radio-friendly tracks and it could have been better if it hadn’t been for the above-mentioned things. I do believe that the band is following the right way and they can become even better in the future…
The Swedish Idol finalist Robin Ericsson is an excellent singer. His voice give that something extra to the tracks. The other guys do a fair job too. I’m not a big fan of this “modern thing” they have on their tracks but the guys know how to write some fine melodies in general. There are tracks, like: “Better Safe Than Sorry”, etc. which can easily be on the airwaves. On the other hand, the album lasts about 52 minutes and contains 14 tracks! That’s too much for a modern melodic rock album. In the end you get too much of the same and you lose interest at long last. They should have featured fewer tracks – the strongest ones… here’s where a label manager comes and offers a fresh look on things, but that’s another story. The production is modern and powerful. The band’s drummer Mats Ericsson engineered, mixed and mastered the album. He did a great job on the whole.
There’s not much to say before I close. “Dead But Not Forgotten” is a good album which features some radio-friendly tracks and it could have been better if it hadn’t been for the above-mentioned things. I do believe that the band is following the right way and they can become even better in the future…