{"id":35632,"date":"2013-12-19T08:53:39","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T13:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=35632"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:39:25","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:39:25","slug":"de-van-current-end-of-days-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/de-van-current-end-of-days-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"De Van | Current End of Days<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller<\/span>
\n– Managing Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"DeWhere the hell did these guys come from? De Van\u2019s new album Current End of Days<\/em> is only their second release, following the incredible debut Planet Botox<\/em>, and they are simply one of the best bands on the planet making music today. Period. Stick a fork in it and set it aflame, because it\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n

De Van\u2019s mastery is defined by their melodic sensibilities wrapped around these metal compositions that feature a lyrical component maybe only Todd Smith from Dog Fashion Disco\/Polkadot Cadaver\/El Creepo can match. These are stories, these are truths, these are words that peel back the perfect skin to expose the cancerous rot beneath \u2026 well \u2026 everything.<\/p>\n

Take marriage, for instance. Many believe it\u2019s a sham, it\u2019s a wonderful way to destroy your life and keep you legally bound like an indentured servant to someone you grow to hate with all your soul \u2026 but you have to sleep with them. In De Van\u2019s realm, they attack this concept on the first track, \u201cUntil the End of Dime.\u201d It\u2019d be one thing if you hear the opening riffs, the eerie keys, and feel the manic rhythm section set your blood burning, but when Eric opens up and sings \u201cI will be right behind, through thick I\u2019m by your side, \u2018til the end of time \u2026 \u2018til the end of every single dime,\u201d THAT\u2019S the magic of De Van. Even without the caustic lyrics, this song is immense. But adding in that other element is what makes De Van stand alone. \u201cWhatever happens, in any event \u2026 fifty percent.\u201d Yes, preach brothers \u2026<\/p>\n

And De Van doesn\u2019t need a heavy anthem to sort through the many miseries of mankind. \u201cLove Me\u201d begins softly, with Eric crooning in a spellbinding falsetto, and you\u2019d think this is an honest song of yearning. Then things pick up, he sings \u201cThe first time that my fist did all the talking you still found the breath to tell me that you \u2026 love me.\u201d That\u2019s insanely perfect. Later, Eric sings the nightmare of \u201cDid I give you a guilty conscience, that I needed help and I needed it from you, did you eat it up, swallow my lies?\u201d An almost orchestral arrangement, mammoth keys, soaring backing vocals and yet you feel self-loathing if you sing along with them. De Van is a whole new animal, kids.<\/p>\n

The title track cuts to the chase, but it\u2019s not like De Van ever beats around the bush. \u201cCurrent End of Days\u201d has a kind of an Evanescence feel and groove. The keys stab at you with in a blunt way, and of course, there\u2019s lyrics like \u201cI heard it on the radio, saw it on a TV show, everything is gonna blow \u2026 tell us something we don\u2019t know.\u201d As a vocalist, Eric seems to take more chances on this release prior to their debut, and like the rest of the band \u2026 they\u2019ve just gotten better in every way.<\/p>\n

The sarcastic \u201cBeautiful\u201d has \u201chit song\u201d written all over it, and \u201cOnly Words\u201d tackles that whole \u201cworks not words\u201d concept, but then the band puts Christ right back in \u201cChristmas\u201d with the song \u201cIt\u2019s Just a Ride.\u201d They don\u2019t even mess around, they just blast at you \u201cThere ain\u2019t no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! There\u2019s no answer to the question \u2018meaning of life?\u2019 but it\u2019s alright \u2026 it\u2019s just a ride.\u201d The pounding pace is like they are trying to knock some sense into you, and they double-down on that idea with lyrics like \u201cwake up, rise and shine, you must be blind.\u201d Holy crap is this the kind of song that drives millions of Christians mad at this time of year but hey, it\u2019s a kick ass song. Check out the raging keys at the end of the song too; it\u2019s like Jens Johansson joined the band.<\/p>\n

\u201cHitmachine\u201d is one of the songs that are a critique but also hilarious. When De Van turns their basilisk glare on the state of pop music today, you\u2019ll of course hear lyrics like \u201cNobody cares if it sounds like shit; if you\u2019re naked, you\u2019re a hit\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy, you are a jerk off fantasy.\u201d It\u2019s funny, it\u2019s true, it\u2019s awesome, but only De Van could so brutally castigate it sonically and lyrically.<\/p>\n

After all of this pummeling, it\u2019s more than a surprise they chose to close the album with \u201cVictorious.\u201d Thematically, it goes against the narrative they so adeptly constructed on every song before, and against the title of the release itself. Is it a good song? Hell yeah. Should it be on this album? Try these lyrics on then you decide if it fits: \u201cMake us glorious tonight, pick us up and we will fight \u2026 we are your heroes, we will fight.\u201d It\u2019s as uplifting as a Katy Perry hit, but \u2026 De Van? Maybe we missed the point \u2026<\/p>\n

Current End of Days<\/em> should make De Van a household name, in every country. It\u2019s that good. And the state of the music industry is exactly what De Van says it is, so the band probably won\u2019t get the accolades and success they rightly deserve. So however cynical the band seems today, wait until next time around. Current End of Days<\/em> is as good or better than everything released in 2013.<\/p>\n

Genre: Metal, Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nEric De Van – vocals
\nMake Laver – lead guitar
\nGreg Andersson – lead guitar
\nBjarne Gudmundsson – drums
\nJoan Ericsson – keys
\nCee – bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Until the End of Dime
\n2. Frankenstein\u2019s Bride
\n3. Love Me
\n4. Current End of Days
\n5. Beautiful
\n6. Only Words
\n7. Private Hell
\n8. It\u2019s Just a Ride
\n9. As Good As It Gets
\n10. Hitmachine
\n11. Victorious<\/p>\n

Online: www.devanband.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.3\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller – Managing Editor — Where the hell did these guys come from? De Van\u2019s new album Current End of Days is only their second release, following the incredible debut Planet Botox, and […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":35633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2317,8496,8495,1103,2267],"class_list":{"0":"post-35632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-current-end-of-days","10":"tag-de-van","11":"tag-hard-rock","12":"tag-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}