{"id":47285,"date":"2014-12-03T08:44:17","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T13:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=47285"},"modified":"2014-12-03T08:44:17","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T13:44:17","slug":"sonic-divide-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/sonic-divide-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonic Divide | Sonic Divide<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"SonicAlthough it\u2019s rather raw hard rock sound of AC\/DC and Rose Tattoo that you associate immediately with the land Down Under, there\u2019s much more that Australia holds in store for the rock-oriented music fans. From the Melbourne-based pomp rock outfit White Widdow to Jac Dalton\u2019s impressive second album Icarus, it seems there\u2019s enough place for keyboard-laden hooks and feisty guitar riffs in the land of Oz. Another act that represents the scene is Sonic Divide, an Adelaide-based six-piece whose self-titled debut album offers an interesting sonic compromise between the contemporary radio friendliness and guitar-fueled rock hooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo In Love\u201d begins the album on a high note; it\u2019s a modern-day melodic rock piece with the clearly pronounced rhythm emphasis, \u201cwall of sound\u201d vocal harmony and crunchy riffs. Especially convincing is the vocal performance of the lead singer Wayne Holden, his voice somewhat reminiscent of the soaring, sensual singing manner of Kane Roberts. \u201cDriven\u201d is the number two, a dramatized piano-based power ballad building up to a grandiose guitar solo. A mellow pop-rock song \u201cI Wonder\u201d somewhat pales in comparison with its predecessors, although there\u2019s a certain quality of neat radio-friendliness to it. The ballad-esque track \u201cWhen The Morning Comes\u201d follows, gravitating towards aesthetics eagerly utilized by many modern-day rock bands, Bon Jovi for example. \u201cToo Much\u201d is another highlight of the album, a keyboard-laden melodic rock anthem embroidered with a soaring, dynamic guitar sound and completed with the perfectly crafted, multi-layered vocals. The track reveals that even though Sonic Divide is a modern-day band who looks forward rather than dwells upon the past sound-wise, some of their influences are deeply rooted in the \u201880s. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also much of the \u201880s-infused flavors in slightly Leppard-esque layered vocal parts of the next track \u201cShattered Fortress\u201d as well as in the ear-piercing synthesizers \u201cStepping Stone\u201d is laden with \u2013 albeit the latter\u2019s notable also because of its slightly funk-ish groove. Music-wise, its follow-up \u201cThe Healing\u201d returns on the path that\u2019s been trod by the band throughout the majority of the album, gravitating towards pop in its structure and melody but drawing much from the rock tradition as well with a brilliant guitar solo. \u201cHorizon\u201d is the final track on the album, delivering distorted guitar sound against the radio-friendly, melodic pop rock groove. <\/p>\n

Although Sonic Divide cite \u201cMuse, U2, Simple Minds and Dream Theater\u201d as the artists they\u2019re fond of, their self-titled debut album testifies these particular inspirations are hardly noticeable in their own sound. What Sonic Divide delivers instead is a handful of neat, polished hooks, melodies skillfully balancing between the \u201880s-infused melodic rock and modern-day pop rock, some impressive guitar playing and great vocals. And while it\u2019s perhaps their more \u201880s-oriented incarnation that is more convincing, also the tracks clearly embedded in the modern-day rock sound are hardly dull. The album shows the Adelaide-based band has much potential \u2013 thus the suggestion we should keep them on our radar is simply loud and clear. <\/p>\n

Genre: Rock, Melodic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nWayne Holden: lead vocals
\nGlenn Johnson: lead guitar
\nAndy Young: keyboards
\nIan Slade: bass
\nSteve Pirie: guitar
\nEvan Johnson: drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tSo In Love
\n2.\tDriven
\n3.\tI Wonder
\n4.\tWhen The Morning Comes
\n5.\tToo Much
\n6.\tShattered Fortress
\n7.\tStepping Stone
\n8.\tThe Healing
\n9.\tHorizon<\/p>\n

Label: Independent<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.sonicdivide.net\/<\/a> – https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sonicdivide<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — Although it\u2019s rather raw hard rock sound of AC\/DC and Rose Tattoo that you associate immediately with the land Down Under, there\u2019s much more that Australia holds in […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,10371,2901,2387,10370,10369],"class_list":{"0":"post-47285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-divide","10":"tag-melodic-rock","11":"tag-rock","12":"tag-sonic","13":"tag-sonic-divide"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47285","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=47285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}