Divides Unfold // Distain // Album Review

Belfast quartet Divides Unfold release their debut album, “Distain”, on the 9th of September.

It may only be eight tracks long but don’t let that fool you as it is a powerhouse of an album. From the opening refrains of “Fire Of The Sun” you know you have something special on your hands, the reverberating bass line and thumping drums set up a great heavy rhythm section with the chugging guitars of Mark and Alex adding to the power, Marks vocals are strong as hell, topping of a great track. “In The Dark” chugs into life off the back of a massive riff and staccato drum beat, There is a higher tempo to this track and it feels heavier, the guitars play off one another to great effect as Mark and Alex trade riffs before Alex drops a killer solo, a fantastic track. One of my favourite tracks is “Far Beyond” There is a killer funky groove to it that once it gets in your head it stays there, packed with soaring chorus’ and big verses it is a real hommage to Alter Bridge and Tremonti but with a bigger sound if that’s possible, Alex’s solo on this is out of this world, simply outstanding. The heavy and grinding “Find Your Piece” is another massive hit, it’s a slow burner in every sense of the word as it slowly builds from the verses to a crescendo around the chorus’, once again the guitars are brilliant; combined with the slower tempo drumming of Adam and bass from Gianluca they have created an awesome track. “Gravity” is an intense affair that has an edgy feel in particular around the verses where Mark speaks more than sings adding to the feeling of impending doom, but when the chorus hits it soars, the crushing drums and guitar riffs set this one off big time, another monster track.

The title track “Distain” has a rhythm like you wouldn’t believe setup by a thumping bass and drum beat that runs throughout the track, the chunky riffs are really heavy and set a nice tone against the drums and bass, Mark’s vocals are once again superb, this lad has a serious set of pipes on him, the build-up to the solo at the back end of the track and the solo itself is amazing, a sensational track. “Saviour” just bangs; from the drums to the vocals everything seems to be dialled in, the riffs from both the guitars and bass are heavy as fuck and the drum beat is savage, another favourite right here. “Til Death” closes the album, and what a way to do it, the opening salvo of the song is unreal with a cool drum beat, rumbling bass and savage riffs, the tone from the guitar is fucking amazing, and a great solo, it’s like the band purposely got the track layout ass backwards; Mark brings his A-game once more as his dulcet tone reverberates through your ears, oh and have I mentioned the guitar tones, fuck me they will blow you away, a great thing they have done here is once the chorus hits it’s like Dolby surround sound kicks in and the volume increase just to accentuate everything, an epic way to close the album in every sense and a strong contender for song of the year in my book anyway.

It is always good to hear some local bands putting out some amazing material.

Review: Conor