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

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)