Mind Noise Network
Days Remain - This Beating Heart
By James Salt - 27 October 2014
DIY. A term we often hear throughout our lives, usually in the design of our homes and gardens, yet maybe not in relation to the music industry. Well allow us to introduce you to Berkshire-based hard rock trio Days Remain. A band that have so far made a career living by that very "DIY" model.
They have not only taken the monumental weight on their shoulders of recording, mixing, producing and self-releasing their debut album "This Beating Heart", they even built the studio to allow themselves to do so.
Additionally, before bassist Phil and drummer James joined the band, lead singer Josh recorded each individual layer of the album himself. Not only did he complete his lead guitar and vocal parts, but took on the task of recording the bass guitar and drums as well. Quite the accomplishment and one that really does require commending.
On first listen to the album anyone familiar with bands such as US rock giants Black Veil Brides and Shinedown will be right at home with the unique vocal style of Josh and the catchy choruses that pulsate through the course of the record.
Opening tracks "A Long Way Home" and "Broken" set things off to a cracking start, injecting breakneck pace and energy into the album from the get-go with some big riffs and a very accomplished vocal sound. Then we are treated to a ballad double-header of "Get To You" and "Hold On" which really slows things down, knocking it out of sync a little. That's not to say these songs are weak, far from it in fact but it has a huge effect on the tempo of the album having these songs one after the other following the kick-ass album openers.
"I Will Digress" helps to keep the listener interested, packing plenty of aggression in it's humongous chorus before single "One More Day" brings out the bands emotional side again. It's hard not to envisage academies full of youngsters holding up their smartphones singing along to every word of these ballads in the future.
"Open Your Eyes" was the first single from the record which teases you with it's mellow verses before letting rip into it's arena-engulfing chorus which will please fans of many of the more mainstream rock acts out there. "Save Me" is a rather forgettable ballad which leads into album highlight "Smoking Gun". A song that begs the invitation of thousands of fans at festivals around the country to pump their fists along to the pulse pounding beat. It's an effortless composition which would have benefited from being part of the opening half of the album as it almost gets lost as the penultimate track. Finally "Someone" brings it all to a pleasing conclusion, really showing off the frontman's talent as a guitarist with hearty riffs and blinding solo. Lovely stuff.
Although this record is a strong debut for the band, occasionally it felt like a solo record (even though some bass parts were re-recorded), the instrumentation was lacking somewhat to allow Josh and his guitar to shine at the forefront of the production. Live, these songs would clearly benefit from the whole band playing their individual instruments - providing their own energy and personality to the show, making it a little less one-dimensional.
The band are ranked as the Number 1 rock band in Berkshire and it's easy to understand why they are slowly beginning to trouble the Nationwide chart as well. "This Beating Heart" shows real potential for this young trio and will appeal to a number of fans, especially those who listen to any of the Stateside hard rock acts mentioned previously, that enjoy their rock with a heavy dose of emotion at the same time.
Towards the end of 2014 and beyond we are going to be seeing and hearing a little more of Days Remain, and we here at MNN will be looking forward to see what they have to offer in the future.
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