Forever to the Moon, the California-based hard rock/alt-metal band, has been turning heads with their bold mix of punk rock, hardcore, and metal. With their latest album “Devil’s Hour”, they’re pushing boundaries and delivering tracks that hit hard with both aggression and emotion. The energy is palpable, the quality undeniable — keep reading for my thoughts!
Adopting a dark, ominous sound early on in the album, the listener is treated to a wide variety of influences on “Devil’s Hour” — be it the clean vocals on the intro track “When Things Go Bump In the Night”, or the poignant, dramatic pianos that keeps the ensemble held together for the vocals, the energy on this track builds slow, and builds tension extremely well; and when the energy does explode around the halfway point of the track, it’s accompanied by a rush, a release of energy that one may only deem sheer magic. Be it the expressive bass guitars or the angry guitars, every bit of the melodic ensemble sticks together excellently, while the chops in the drumming keeps things beautifully synchronized, almost as if to infuse a pulse into the mix that the rest of the track lives by. Solid foundation!
“Devil’s Hour” brings hits like the sophomore and title single — and on this track, the band adopts a much darker and aggressive death metal/black metal sound with the descending guitar licks played with taste; while the melodic ensemble sets one up with the energy to carry through the hook, or the frankly outstanding breakdown sections; and the experimentation with meters in the bridges between verses, is also worth much appreciation.
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“BitchCraft” brings a hard, steel-edged punk rock sound that’s sure to get you moving and grooving early on — and as the song progresses, it rears its thrash and punk metal side, all while the vocals keep excellent company. There’s much to appreciate about the whammy bar dives in the solo, the dual guitars working in tandem to make it happen, and the clean, ominous vocals that follow right after — all in all, a fever dream of a track.
“Devil’s Hour” finds itself dotted with more tracks such along the 11-track journey from start to end, a standout set being “Death”, “In Loving Memory”, and “Eye Of The Storm” — each impressing with their production and execution. The mixing and mastering on this album is also topnotch, with great control in the low-end, and no harshness higher up. There’s excellent separation between instruments and great stereo image, and that’s what makes the album a very well-rounded listen overall.
All in all, “Devil’s Hour” by Forever To The Moon – a supremely well-executed album that would remind you of the good days of heavy metal in a jiffy — and keep you there. Check out the album here!
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