“Diabolical Girl” is the latest release by Forever At Midnight, an outstanding Australian band based in Sydney. It’s their first piece of work this year, arriving as an adequate follow-up of “Spider,” “When You Wake,” and “Meant To Be,” three excellent standalone singles released in 2024 that you should also check out as soon as possible. Still, the brand new EP arrives with many innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, showcasing a natural progression of an already incredible band. Lyrically, Forever At Midnight covers themes such as love, relationships, various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, so “Diabolical Girl” is a highly relatable material that will immediately resonate with the broader auditorium. Sonically, they combine many different but complementary music genres to illustrate such luxuriant sonic imagery. Perhaps modern pop-punk comes to mind first, but you’ll unquestionably notice how some of the finest properties borrowed from post-hardcore, metalcore, nu-metal, skater rock, emo, and indie found their way into this sonic equation. This EP resonates with everything you dearly love about these music genres yet don’t be surprised if you stumble upon other music genres along the way because these highly skilled musicians stacked their songs with many surprises. Although “Diabolical Girl” resonates with modern sound, they also incorporated some segments that will immediately transport you several decades back. Therefore, it’s an EP that will not appeal to pop punk and metalcore fans but anyone who appreciates cleverly composed and expertly performed music.
This epic sonic journey commences with “Shattered Pieces,” a powerful track where the band prepares for what’s about to come up next. The band immediately showcases tremendous musical abilities by delivering profoundly detailed guitar interplay. You’ll stumble upon how ultimately heavy riffs resonate on one side while the other shines catchy, memorable, engaging themes, melodies, and harmonies. These guitar works act as a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon while the additional synth leads elevate this fine piece of sonic artistry to an entirely new level. The exceptional vocal performance commands attention while guiding the listening apparatus through each segment. The impressive vocal range balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything Forever At Midnight intended to achieve with this track. In the meantime, the rich, deep, luxuriant low-ends rumble beneath these guitar and synth works, providing more groove and depth. At the same time, the excellent drumming performance keeps all the instrumentations in line with marvelous beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. “I Swear, I’m Fine” is coming up next, delivering a modern pop-punk ambiance to the table. This composition showcases Forever At Midnight’s versatility and creativity, as they’re one of those rare bands who can write and perform tracks in almost every music genre and still sound fascinating and convincing. You’ll hear how all those classic pop-punk melodies harmoniously collide with generously distorted riffs. Yet the band takes a deep dive into much more complex instrumentations as the song progresses. Even when they resonate with those simplistic orchestrations, Forever At Midnight found their way to get back to progressive sonic waters where jaw-dropping guitar works reign supreme. The way the rhythm section articulates with the remainder of the band goes beyond comprehension so many times throughout the entire song, making “I Swear, I’m Fine” such an impressive pop-punk piece worth revisiting over and over again.
Their ability to stack so many music genres into a singular track and yet keep it cohesive showcases their tremendous experience, knowledge, skills, and talent. “Hollow Eyes” is rock-solid proof of their dedication to the craft, as they incorporated everything from mellow pop-punk moments to raw, aggressive, screaming, fully distorted metalcore segments where their music forces you to mosh and bang your head. The way each layer articulates here without overwhelmng the remainder of the structure is nearly mindblowing. The fascinating vocal harmonies contribute emotional depth and complexity through screams and clean singing techniques while the guitars continously levitate between post-hardcore, metalcore, and nu-metal riffs, chord progressions, harmonies. The synth leads add more richness to the overall ambiance, contributing more leads and melodies that perfectly suit all the guitar works. In the meantime, the excellent basslines provide more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while the wisely arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated rhythmic patterns dictate groove and pace. Each instrument has its place and purpose here, making “Diabolical Girl” such an fascinating listening experience. Forever At Midnight is one the finest pop punk/metalcore bands you’ll stumble upon on the modern scene. With their boundless creativity, brilliant ideas, and jaw-dropping musical abiltiies, these talented musicans has created a perfect material that resonates with everything you dearly love about the mentioned music genres. From impressive vocal harmonies, catchy guitar and synth works, intricate basslines, and dynamic drumming performance, “Diabolical Girl” contains everything it takes to convine even the pickiest undergound music enthusiasts to spin this magnificent EP repeatedly. Forever At Midnight is rare gem on the global pop punk/metalcore scene, a one-of-a-kind band capable of delvering fascinating music that defies easy categorization. Therefore, head to your favorite streaming platform and blast this EP loud. Don’t miss it!
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