ALBUM REVIEW: Dark Divine – ‘Undead Melody’

Bands like Dark Divine make a great argument for the existence of hierarchies in metalcore. At the top of this particular block is Ice Nine Kills, who’ve only become more inspired in their embrace of horror theming and aesthetics with each new move. Just below them is Motionless In White, a bit trope-y but good with what they’ve got nonetheless. At the very bottom are the total chancers who believe the key to success begins and ends at some applied eyeliner. Now, take a guess which side Dark Divine are closer to.

Alright, to be fair, it’s not so bad. There’s at least some giddy-up to make it sometimes stick, which is more than some of this Halloween-costume-core can even muster. That said, we’re at a point in this style’s shelf life where said shelf’s fortitude is really being tested, and Undead Melody isn’t such an inspired inclusion that it’s worth dedicating space for. It’s just the same-old, and that gets all the more apparent as it goes along.

At first, anyway, there’s maybe an indication of something different. The opening title track presents a first impression of Anthony Martinez as having a voice closer to a willow-voiced emo-popper than your typical metalcore action figure. It’s a little interesting, and in the album’s second half, serves as a good vehicle for choruses to leap out on Temporary Paradise, Half Past Dead (Unbury Me) and Make Me Disappear. That’s where Dark Divine are at their best, hands down—not exactly shaking the earth beneath them, but relatively impressing with what they’ve got.

Unfortunately, they don’t have a lot of their own, and that’s where Undead Melody starts to lose its way. Actually, ‘lose its way’ might be overly generous; it’s where the album becomes virtually indistinguishable from others of its kind. You can tell how hard Dark Divine are trying to capitalise on their influences, only to wind up as the own-brand version. The first big instance is Midnight Masquerade, a Motionless In White riff that’s desperate for its hammering-metalcore-meets-gothic-opulence shtick as close to genuine article as possible.

More present are the stabs (har har) at Ice Nine Kills, though nowhere near OTT enough for the desired effect. Songs have titles like Better Start Digging and Halloweentown II, and Freakshow pays a little extra in its tribute by being rooted in circus music. Otherwise, it’s calculated in a way that removes the joy and flagrancy that makes Ice Nine Kills so fun in the first place. Obvious callbacks are all well and good (see the closer This Is Not The End and how it’s totally different from a previous INK closer IT Is The End…), but there’s such a thing as being too obvious, too. At that level, Dark Divine are making such conservative estimates for how this can work, any magic and flair is being sidelined almost indefinitely.

There’s a line on Freakshow—“Don’t be original, do what we say”—that’s clearly delivered ironically as a swipe at those who’d want Dark Divine to conform, but the real irony comes in how they seem to heed that notion. They are just like everyone else; there’s not a new idea even entertained on Undead Melody, let alone employed. The low vocal croak; unflattering portions of rapping; an emo sensibility splayed across big emotions; it’s about as stock-standard as metalcore kit comes these days. It’s not even poorly done, but imagination is in such direly short supply.

That’s really the issue with not just Dark Divine, but so many like them. As ripe for exploration as ‘horror-themed metalcore’ sounds, so few put in the legwork to actually do it, which is why we get neverending swathes of these that just don’t stand out. Dark Divine, therefore, land with a bit of a whimper in the long term. In the moment, they’re fine; they’re catchy enough and hit what feels like needs to be hit. Take even one step back, though, and they get lost in the crowd instantly. When that new Motionless In White album comes out in a few weeks, Dark Divine will seem even more forgettable.

For fans of: Ice Nine Kills, Motionless In White, Black Veil Brides

‘Undead Melody’ by Dark Divine is released on 29th May on Thriller Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall