Taking two years to make, ‘Become The Monster’, HOPELESS HEROIC’s first full length feature is a grand achievement. A Sterling ten track album with a combination of up and down tempo tracks, with hints of rock, punk and rap influences.
This quartet start off their album with classical violins during ‘Death Whispers’, which slowly emerges into a thumping track with memorable vocals and a very catchy breakdown. Next is ‘Brasco’, and after a hefty instrumental that erupts into wild angst and a wave of fast vocals that that work so well that they carry on into ‘The Only Enemy That Ever Mattered’.
By track four, ‘Great Days For Young Sinners’, the pace slows down but continues with quickfire riffs and sharp vocals. HOPELESS HEROIC’s energetic instrumentals return in ‘Almost Dead Famous’, ploughing through to rhythmic ‘The Getaway’ and playful ‘Michelle’.
Towards the end of the album, the band demonstrate how versatile Gavin Bain’s vocals can be. His voice resonates over mellow violin strings and calming guitar riffs during the haunting ‘Cried Wolf’. Final song ‘Wake Up & Smell The Coffee’ starts swiftly, adding in stacks of attitude and gang vocals that are a perfect end for this album.
For a band who have had their setbacks, they prove that now there is no going back with this album.
JO DODGE