“Plight Goes On” is the latest release by The Dead Hearts, an outstanding Polish band based in Lublin. Heavily promoted by “Losing You,” “Lost Not Gone,” “No Way Of Healing,” and “Enslaved (Break This Cycle), four excellent compositions that vividly showcase what you might expect from this material, “Plight Goes On” stands as their debut full-length album. Lyrically, this material explores a range of sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, making it a highly relatable collection of songs that will resonate with a broader audience. Sonically, the band has been inspired by the greats such as Deftones, Linkin Park, Alter Bridge, and Chavelle. Perhaps alternative metal and alternative rock come to mind first, as all the fundamental elements of these genres are vividly hearable in the mix, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from nu metal, metal, grunge, post rock, hard rock, and many more. The Dead Hearts wisely used all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. You’ll hear how they embrace and utilise qualities that meet all the trends in modern music production, yet incorporate subtle touches of nostalgia that unquestionably evoke the late nineties and early noughties music scene, an era when all the mentioned styles ruled the airwaves. These experimentations with various music genres, approaches, techniques, and directions resulted in a collection of catchy, memorable, powerful, and meaningful songs that will not only appeal to the fans of alternative metal and rock but also to anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
As soon as you press play, you’ll notice how The Dead Hearts poured heart and soul into this material. Every composition arrives with a perfect structure, adorned with profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and marvelous musicianship. From the onset, you’ll stumble upon a soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, and powerful vocal performance. These highly emotional, meaningful vocal harmonies elevate everything to new heights, command attention, and guide listeners through the expansive sonic universe crafted by these skillful musicians. The impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing everything The Dead Hearts intended to achieve with these songs with such precision and finesse. Besides decorating all the segments and orchestrations, the vocals also contribute more of the necessary emotional depth and complexity to an already intricate song structures. Although all the tracks carry the outstanding vocal performance, tracks like “For What May Never Came,” “Lost Not Gone,” “Losing You,” “Promises,” “Shame,” “What I’ve Become,” “Shining Star,” and “All The Same” exemplify how alternative metal and rock music should be vocally performed. In the meantime, the exceptional guitar works shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. The guitar players understand that vocal delivery carries certain emotion, so they are totally in sync with all the harmonies, bringing marvelous interplay through wisely constructed guitar works. You’ll notice how the rhythm guitar resonated with crunchy, abrasive, heavy, controlled riffs and chord progressions while the lead delivers catchy leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers. It’s nearly mindblowing how all these guitar layers articulate without overwhelming each other, proving that The Dead Hearts thought about everything while assembling these songs. It’s hard to pick songs where these guitar interplays stand out, as each composition arrives with many memorable moments worth mentioning, so it’s definitely easier to say that the entire “Plight Goes On” shines in its brilliance.
The same goes for the low-end section, the important cog in this sonic machinery that brings more heaviness, clarity, and depth while acting as a binding element between the mentioned guitar works and rhythmic patterns. Although the guitars reign supreme throughout the entire material, you’ll also notice how all those rich, deep, dense, warm basslines rumble beneath layers, contributing more than necessary low-ends that make these songs more groovy and detailed. The importance of the bass guitar cannot be underestimated here, as The Dead Hearts paid equal attention to both guitars and bass, making this album even more interesting for your listening apparatus. Of course, this epic sonic journey wouldn’t be complete without the impressive drumming. You’ll hear how all those tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics keep the remainder of the band in line while dictating groove and pace with such precision and finesse. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation on the hi-hat, and splash over the cymbals cut through the ambiance, making this material even more detailed, groovy, and ear-appealing. “Plight Goes On” is one of those albums that keeps you tied to the speakers from start to finish. There are many qualities and highlights that make this album so highly emotive, meaningful, and worth spinning over and over again. From intelligent songwriting and composing, brilliant performance of the entire band, and modern production that makes everything so perfectly glued together, “Plight Goes On” proves that The Dead Hearts is a magnificent alternative metal band packed with tremendous experience, knowledge, and skills, which obviously decorate and elevate their songs to new heights. It’s definitely one of the finest albums you’ll hear this year, and you should immediately place it on your music radar. “Plight Goes On” is available on all streaming platforms. Do not miss it!
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