Another MelodicRockRecords release and man, am I glad I got this one! Coming from out of nowhere for me, this bunch surely took me by surprise. Degreed are a five piece band consisting of Robin Ericsson on bass and vocals, Mats Ericsson on drums, Daniel Johansson and Jesper Adefelt on guitars and backing vocals and Mikael Jansson on keyboard.
To describe their music think this: progressive metal married with AOR and got some children who write damn fine catchy short tunes, but put some more technical stuff in, just because they can. And without it becoming a blur, no, they just intensify the performance!
I know, sounds kinda odd, but this was the feeling I got listening to this. Packed to the brim with energy, opener B.O.D. is a prime example of what I said before. Very melodic and rocking, yet arranged with a lot of solo keyboards that give that progressive idea. And still the song hits home hard. Actually every song here is killer. Very fresh and impressive. and I don’t know who plays those guitar solos, but I want what they have been feeding that guy. Awesome playing throughout!
So I am not going to spend more words on this, essential buy. (one small remark, next time please no black letters on a dark background…)