With two albums out, Never Say Never (2018) and Reflections (2019), German melodic rockers DeVicious is what I’d like to call a “close but no cigar” band for me. The debut album passed as good with no really bad songs but no great ones either. It did show potential, though and as I’m a fan of their brand of Melodic Rock/AOR I had hopes that the band had developed their song-writing skills for the follow-up – and sure, that album showed a band with more experience who had stuck to their craft and bettered it some. But there was still something missing and I just can’t put my finger on what. They have the hooks, the strong melodies and the musicianship but the puck always seemed to hit post-out instead of post-in-goal. Another good yet a few steps away from great album. When the band now releases full-length album #3, it’s with a new singer in Italian Antonio Calanna who replaced Mr Sanders (Zoran Sandorov) last year. And again, the last album showed more potential than than the debut, so maybe this will be their cigar-album.
DeVicious opens with the album’s leading single “Firefly”, a song that starts out with a crunchy W.A.S.P.-like riff and continues in an uptempo pace with some Hard Rock guitar-riffing and a Melodic Rock main melody. The song is melodic, catchy and somewhat poppy but even though it doesn’t lack hooks and is a good tune, it feels a bit lukewarm and I keep waiting for the chorus to hit a nerve – but it never does. Latest single “Mysterious” follows. It treats us with gritty guitars, crunchy riffing on a Hard Rock note with a tough outlook and a direct punch. The song goes through the verses as a build-up to get to the chorus where the big catchiness is and quite frankly, it’s really hard to get rid of once it’s there. A really good song with big hit potential.
“Pouring Rain” is a mid-paced rock-stomper, shaped with the 80’s in mind and a Bon Jovi-like swagger. It’s big on the keyboards and nice harmonies but also holds a really meaty-guitar riff, the main-melody is very strong which is followed by a an effective and direct refrain that sticks right off the bat. A very good song that instantly feels like a hit. Best so far. “Walk Through Fire” is a bit more raunchy and brings on a bigger rawk stomp. Shaped in a Melodic Rock form, the tune is rougher than the previous ones yet the vocal-melodies are as smooth as always, especially in the chorus that sends out hooks that grabs you right from hello. It’s a great tune and I’m getting my hopes up for real now.
With “Calling My Name”, DeVicious keeps the hopes alive. This one is a rhythmic groover in mid-tempo with lots of hook-laden melodies, a colorful soundscape and some eerie sounding keyboards which brings a different edge to the pretty common Melodic Rock sound of the song. No, there’s nothing new under the sun here style-wise but I can’t be bothered with trivial stuff like that. With more of the grit-guitars and a striking chorus, the tune is brought home. Very good. “Burning Skies” kicks off with a dark and heavy bass-line, some beefy and rowdy guitar-riffing and a solid rhythm that makes the song take on a juicy groove. On top, as a contrast, a smooth and slick vocal-melody brings on a major catchiness without going radio-flirtatious with us. A fine mixture of Melodic Rock and plain hard Rock. Good stuff.
With a synth-sound that yells mid 80’s loud and clear, the upbeat “Higher” takes us on a trip down memory lane. The keyboard dominates the song from the silky intro and throughout the song. It’s a neat pop-rocker with a melody-structure that at times reminds me of Harem Scarem and as icing on the cake they treats us with a chorus so massively contagious no vaccine could cure it and it hits bulls-eye right on the spot. This must be a single at one point because this is a hit. Great. “Unstoppable Interlude” is nothing more than a minute of diverse synthesizer sounds and a spacey melody to lead us into the next track. It could might as well have been part of the next tune, “You Can’t Stop Now”, as an intro because it goes right into it.
Said tune is a rhythmic rocker with slammin’ drums, a groovy bass-line and crunchy guitars with some real catchy riffing. The 80’s sounding keys takes the Hard Rock of the song and steers into a more Melodic Rock vibe due to the hook-laden and smooth vocal-melodies. Another catchy refrain makes it a single contender. It’s a good one, for sure. “Our Song” brings along a Scandi-AOR vibe but also holds a heavier rhythm-section and some edgy guitars – both saviors as the Scandi-AOR sound has been done to death by now and it also takes away some of the sweetness of the mid-80’s synth sound, the very Pop melodies and the full-on AOR chorus. Said chorus, however, is massive and catches right off the bat. Another clear single-contender. I quite like it.
As the album’s closing track, but also not a closer, “Rising From A Thunder” is also the album’s second single. It’s a straight-up, heavy rocker, quite in-your-face and even raunchy that holds a chorus that’s both ballsy and slick. It’s quite a good, meaty rocker but lyrically it’s both cliched and a bit cringy. “Clichés are sometimes a part of it”, states Calanna but it doesn’t make it less cringy, I’m afraid. It’s not bad but I’m not aroused either. As a closing bonus track we get “Bad Timing”, a soft, stripped and sullen tearjerker of a slowie. It holds a soothing, melancholic main-melody and later on it turns slightly orchestrated with a (synth) string-section to broaden the soundscape. It’s a good emotional song and why it’s a bonus track beats me.
Even though this album is DeVicious’ best effort to date – it’s not even a discussion – the homerun album still awaits. It’s an even album, completely without bad songs but what bothers me is that even the songs I really dug while listening faded fast from my memory – there are some really good stuff on here but it’s the last IT that makes the songs great that is lacking even on this album, except for a few exceptions. Maybe they need a new producer? A co-songwriter? On the good side, the band moves forward with each release and the new singer is a step up as well. Close but no cigar still? Well, more like closer but the cigar isn’t in the band’s hands just yet.
6/10
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Tracklist:
1. Firefly
2. Mysterious
3. Pouring Rain
4. Walk Through Fire
5. Calling My Name
6. Burning Skies
7. Higher
8. Unstoppable Interlude
9. You Can’t Stop Now
10. Our Song
11. Rising From A Thunder
12. Bad Timing (Bonus Track)
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