Album review: DIARIES OF A HERO – Diaries Of A Hero

Dust On The Tracks [Release date – 26.05.14]

Diaries Of A Hero are a band who have been doing the rounds for a few years now. I first became aware of the guys a couple of years ago when they opened for Motorhead and Anthrax and to be honest I wasn’t blown away by the band live. A couple of years on and the band have released their second album and listening through it the guys appear to have upped the game somewhat.

Jagged riffs and vocals which veer from melodic to scream in a blink of an eye are the order of the day here. It is all delivered with a polished edge which reminds me at times of Trivium and Avenged Sevenfold. Tracks like ‘Manimal’ and ‘J5’ rock hard and heavy and it sounds as though they would be great in a live setting.

The guitar work of John Weeks is melodic and relentless in equal measure, his soloing demonstrating some real talent. The furious ‘Victims Of Chaos’ shows Weeks at his best as he burns up the fretboard with frantic riffs and breakneck solos, breathtaking stuff.

The only change of tempo on the album comes during the closing track ‘Brother’ where the guys take things down a notch and actually end up in Linkin Park territory rounding off the disc on a bit of a curved ball.

Diaries Of A Hero could easily be written off as another nu-metal also ran, but that would be doing the band a dis-service as they are a more complex proposition than that. The songwriting and playing show the band have talent but a little more variation in tempo and style would help them appeal to a wider audience. This is an observation though rather than a criticism and I would recommend you give the album a listen. ***1/2

Review by David Wilson

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