Review – Dead By April – Stronger

Dead By April’s debut, their out of this world 2009 self titled album, catapulted them to the big leagues in their homeland of Sweden on its release, being apparently 14 copies shy of flying to the top of the mainstream album charts in front of Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown. Naturally, as a matter of course, they remain practically unknown over here, although they have been on a couple of tours with the likes of Skindred, and My Passion in the last few years.

That debut was extraordinary, and set them out as ones for the future, bringing muscular metalcore stylings, and mixing in pop hooks, and pulsating synths and keys. They sounded like a new, and more heavily tattooed Linkin Park, which is a comparison that is only to their utmost credit. It was one of the best releases of that year, and tracks such as Trapped, Angels of Clarity, Promise Me, and Losing You were massive songs, with anthemic choruses, and brutal musical accompaniment.

Stronger is a remix album of sorts, including alternate versions of some of the tracks from the debut. It starts with supposedly “heavier” versions of the lead one-two of Trapped and Angels of Clarity, which, to me at least, don’t sound any different from the originals. There is also a remix of the latter song later in the album done by Slipknot’s Shawn Crahan, which is just a poorer version of the original.

Having said that though, Stronger does have its good moments.

Acoustic run throughs of Promise Me and Losing You are good, and although not as powerful as the originals, are a nice take on the songs, showcasing their writing style to great effect. They will never be better than the original cuts, but as an accompaniment, and if considering this as a separate body of work, they are still worth a listen. A demo version of More Than Yesterday, Stronger, My Saviour, and Leaves Falling are all songs that sound like Dead By April doing what they do best, and go down well, with them showcasing their abilities perfectly, and clearly playing to their strengths. A cover of Killing Joke’s Love Like Blood is also a more than worthy inclusion in this release.

A good set of tracks, even if it is perhaps better suited to die-hards, and completists.

For a new listener however, they should stick to the enthralling debut, to really fall in love with this band, before venturing to this stop-gap release.

7/10