Review of The Virginmarys - The Divides

Mearon Naman
Apr 19, 2016
2 min read

The Virginmarys - 'THE DIVIDES'

Starting off on a bass riff that is reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine's "New Millennium Homes", England based hard rock band, The Virginmarys, jump into their new album, The Divides with a high energy start.

After their acclaimed debut album, King of Conflict, The Virginmarys hope to capture some of that magic and momentum in their sophomore release. As a whole, Ally Dickaty delivers on guitar. The riffs throughout the album are nuanced, honed, and well laid out for the entirety of the album. Even the more quiet parts of the album gives the listener a feel for how far the actual composition of the music has come.

That being said, it does feel at time that Dickaty is fighting with himself on certain songs, especially the parts where the guitar takes more of a focus. This is seen mostly in "Moths To A Flame" where Dickaty's singing greatly improves when he isn't putting all his effort into hitting his chords as hard as he can. The backing vocals of drummer Danny Dolan and bassist Matt Rose seem to carry the listener through those moments, especially in songs like "Halo In Her Silhouette". The rest of the instrumental playing on the album is stellar and never gives up. It's just what you'd expect from a hard rock band with a punk focus.

With that in mind, the album does start off louder and faster in the first few songs and slowly begins to descend into softer melodies. That isn't to say the songs are slow to the average listener but definitely slower to what we've come to expect from The Virginmarys. After a few listens, it's hard not to compare certain songs or certain moments to other bands. There's a little Sum 41, a little Rob Zombie, and even some Bruce Springsteen thrown in. It really showcases the directions the band is willing and can move to in the future. The album is right at home at your next house party, road trip, or anything really. It's a diverse series of tracks that welcome the listener with simple but foot moving compositions.

With the release of The Divides, The Virginmarys manages to put their own touch to a rather saturated genre of music. Now this doesn't mean this album will likely change the face of hard rock or punk music as a whole, but it does move the band in a direction to do some very excitable and memorable things. All in all, The Virginmarys' fan base will love this album, it has enough of their original sound without bringing in too much that's new and will not alienate their core followers. The record might also win over some fans while others may be unimpressed with the depth that much of this album seems to avoid. Still, it's a decent record from a band has all the right gears in place to release something monumental.

by SROMagInc.com Journalist: Mearon Naman