The Light Divided is a four piece metal band originating from Southampton. It seems like Southampton has recently had an increase in its musical uprising as this band is looking to accompany great bands like Kids Can’t Fly, New Riot and Not Advised to the path of steady recognition.
The EP kicks off with ‘Hellbent and Burntout’ which opens with the lyrics ‘let’s burn this city down, coz it’s going to hell’ which hints at anguish and aggression in their opening, but this song is clearly fuelled by some sort of passion as energetic harmonies flow through melodic metal riffs. This song has strong fusions of feel good elements as well as the urgency to spread some sort of meaning through this track. A breakdown accompanied by gang vocals keeps a pulsating tempo to the track as the lyric ‘we only burn to survive’ ends the song in a triumphant manor.
Next is ‘Aces High’ which helps this EP continue to thrive upon melodic metal guitar riffs and edgy vocals. The chorus shows off the front man’s vocal ability through moderate ‘acrobatics’ which I would like to see replicated live as that would definitely be something quite special. The gang vocals near the end seem a bit unprofessional compared to the rest of the track, but nonetheless, I can imagine an easy sing along with their crowd guaranteed.
‘Bad Blood’ opens with flowing harmonies between the two vocalists to break into a cutting edge guitar riff. I would put down vocal harmonies as the bands key strength as some of the vocal work on this record so far has been spectacular, so I will have to wait and see if their vocals are as impressive live when they perform at iBar in Bournemouth on the 2nd August.
Title track ‘Who We Are’ has less of a sparkle to it, but maintains the edgy tones on the previous tracks which keeps the EP alive even when on its last legs. Bonus track ‘Call to Arms’ builds slowly to break into a thudding melody of sharp guitar riffs and progresses into a steady rhythm. A more mellow moment near the end of the track is led into long harmonies which burst into the final push of this EP. Personally I see the first three tracks as real gems and although the latter is still good, the final two tracks aren’t as sharp or memorable. Overall, this is a very good EP with many boast able qualities. The Light Divided is a band with their heads down and it is clear that they are ready to take their sound to the next level.
Make sure you checkout the band at iBar, Bournemouth on 2nd August.
Track Listing
1. Hellbent & Burntout
2. Aces High
3. Bad Blood
4. Who We Are
5. Call to Arms
http://www.thelightdivided.com
http://www.myspace.com/thelightdivided
Words by George Fullerton.
