{"id":34532,"date":"2015-06-19T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T00:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=34532"},"modified":"2015-08-01T22:29:13","modified_gmt":"2015-08-01T22:29:13","slug":"album-review-degreed-dead-but-not-forgotten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-degreed-dead-but-not-forgotten\/","title":{"rendered":"DEGREED – Dead But Not Forgotten (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEGREED
Dead But Not Forgotten<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSun Hill Production (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 4\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Formed in 2005, this is album number three from Sweden\u2019s Degreed, but although I\u2019ve spun this latest platter several times now I still can\u2019t decide if it\u2019s a winner? Degreed features 2008 Swedish Idol finalist Robin Ericsson who has that sort of tame yet soulful melodic rock croon which sounds very now, but he\u2019s surrounded by a myriad of sounds, some of which I like and some of which I do not.<\/p>\n

First up there is the positives within some of the riffs of Daniel Johansson, who when given the license to roam comes up with some fiery grooves which give certain tracks, like \u2018Kill Your Darlings\u2019, that extra steel.<\/p>\n

However, on the negative side the band seems a tad safe and generic at times, plodding along with a mediocre AOR slant \u2013 but that\u2019s probably because of bassist Robin Ericsson\u2019s vocal style which although competent rarely excites me. Also, Mats Ericsson\u2019s drums are at times a touch too weak for my liking and get lost in the mix.<\/p>\n

With album opener \u2018The Scam\u2019 we hear the band opting for racier climes, the bass, guitar and drums working well together to up the pace, although the overall premise is one of a basic hard rock by numbers traipse which is easy on the ear and does exactly what it says on the tin.<\/p>\n

With these sorts of records I\u2019m often left feeling unfulfilled, gagging for an extra slice of weight or attitude. Such is their contemporary design and glossy sheen that Degreed seem all too comfortable in their middle-of-the-road groove, appealing to the masses to some extent but lacking real soul and energy to stand apart.<\/p>\n

As the album shifts along I\u2019m left rather frosty by the grey dynamics of \u2018Face The Fact\u2019; a dreary almost melancholic drone which isn\u2019t a million miles away from Sixx A.M.\u2019s style of lifeless rambling. Indeed, randomly click \u201cplay\u201d on any track here and you\u2019ll find yourself faced with an air of familiarity and safeness that leaves me feeling that Degreed are just like a million other melodic rock acts. Maybe it\u2019s just not my thing, but the likes of \u2018Madness\u2019, \u2018Shame On Me\u2019 and \u2018Love Me Love Me Not\u2019 all seem to bleed into one as downbeat melodies attempting positivity but just so stuck in that rut of modern glumness.<\/p>\n

I could certainly imagine these guys in the charts, but that doesn\u2019t mean they have something spectacular to offer. Indeed, the only tracks which seem to boast a smattering of fire are the aforementioned \u2018Kill Your Darlings\u2019 with its riffage, the catchy \u2018Better Safe Than Sorry\u2019 which finally offers up a grittier vocal style, and \u2018The Final Ride\u2019 with flecks of aggression again in the guitar. For me though, this feels like a heavily strained record and one which meanders like a raindrop down the windowpane; happy to join millions of others in its never-ending quest of normality.<\/p>\n

Dead But Not Forgotten<\/em> actually depresses me as a record, and apart from the rare upbeat patches it is one constant grey haze which lacks sparkle. I guess I have to be cruel to be kind, but Degreed\u2019s latest episode really is a composition lacking colour and adventure, and yet for some reason it will probably appeal to a wide range of music fans because of its tameness.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DEGREEDDead But Not Forgotten Sun Hill Production (2015)Rating: 4\/10 Formed in 2005, this is album number three from Sweden\u2019s Degreed, but although I\u2019ve spun this latest platter several times now I still can\u2019t decide if it\u2019s a winner? Degreed features 2008 Swedish Idol finalist Robin Ericsson who has that sort of tame yet soulful melodic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,2383],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-degreed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34532"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34536,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34532\/revisions\/34536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}