EP REVIEW: Dark Divine - "Halloweentown"
“The best parts of the Trinity of Terror bands wrapped into one amazing up and coming act”
by Jesse Smith
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to interview one of my favorite up and coming acts, Dark Divine. Emerging from the Orlando, FL scene, they have been making their voices heard since their first single release titled “Halloweentown” which would become the title track for their new EP. Over the course of that year, Dark Divine has been ripping through the scene filling the gap that many feel bands like Motionless In White haven’t filled in many years while still having their own unique identity. Between their powerful vocal performance mixed with the creepy synth tone and gritty guitar distortion, Dark Divine came out swinging for the fences with a fresh face in a re-emerging subgenre in the scene. The band is released under the awesome people over at InVogue Records and they have had one of the most impressive and solid release campaigns I’ve seen in awhile. 5 out of 7 songs on the EP were released as singles which really boosted the hype and was done the way I believe all bands should be releasing music in 2022, it also helps when your whole EP is nothing but bangers.
Artwork for Dark Divine’s EP, Halloweentown
“Halloweentown” kicks off with one of my favorite singles “Run Away” which is very horror movie-esc. From the Chainsaw sound to kick off the song to the announcement buildup to a crushing breakdown, this song encompasses the direction this album is going to go. Taking pages from the Ice Nine Kills playbook and utilizing the horror theme all throughout the EP but in a completely new way. Instead of almost summarizing a movie in their lyrics, vocalist Anthony Martinez is more of a poet. With lyrics like “your mind screams louder than a chainsaw, when it chases you all you can do is run” which ties in with the rest of the song, is a powerful and poetic twist in perspective. Songs like this and next track “No Escape” that features Ricky Armellino of Ice Nine Kills/HAWK use the creepy synth tones that was a staple in early Motionless In White. Having that made the nostalgia part of my brain scream with joy. Each song is very homogeneous with one an other but also has it’s own unique quality which just goes to prove that they are fully aware of their identity and their stylistic direction. Each song is very energetic and is written directly to the metalcore lovers. I could see these songs getting eaten up by outlets like Octane while also picking up the slack older bands left behind to try to go mainstream. Teetering on the delicate balance between being brutally heavy and having mainstream rock anthemic choruses truly makes them a dangerous weapon in the scene. “Halloweentown” the track was the first track I heard of the band which immediately got hooked with the iconic “blegh” in the beginning. This record in whole is super easy to get lost in and is not short of bone crushing breakdowns and superior songwriting. This is one of the strongest debut releases of a new band I’ve seen in a while.
I’ve eluded to this, but i’ll just plainly say it.. This is the album we wished we got after Motionless In White’s “Creatures”. With the “Trinity of Terror” being the scene equivalent to the “Big 4” in Thrash metal, Dark Divine capitalizes on the best aspects of those bands and puts their own unique twist. Goth/horror metalcore is coming back and it’s coming back way bigger than it was in 2010/12 and Dark Divine is that fresh face fans are going to need to propel the genre to new heights. Having made a statement in the social media world with their open verse TikTok for Motionless In White reaching north of 1.5m views and 67k monthly listeners on spotify the band is over to a very solid start. With only one tour under their belt, don’t be shocked if all of a sudden their schedule becomes very busy and everywhere you look they are there. You heard it here first and I won’t say I told you so.