Album Review: Drop Dead, Gorgeous - 'In Vogue'

Drop Dead, Gorgeous only came to my attention recently but they’ve really impressed with their debut album “In Vogue”.

I picked up their EP (Be Mine, Valentine) a few months ago and although it had some good elements, the songs still left a lot to be desired. Many of the tracks on the EP didn’t go any longer than 2 minutes so it came across as more of a collection of riffs rather than a cohesive group of songs.

Any gripes I had with this band are now a thing of the past because on “In Vogue”, Drop Dead, Gorgeous have created an album which (I feel) could breathe new life into the sometimes dull, and often generic metalcore genre.

DDG use erratic time signatures, chugging riffs and challenging song structures to create a noise which is both heavy but somehow catchy at the same time. On paper, this might sound like something you’ve heard before but I assure you that there are a few elements which separate the band from the rest of the pack.

Whereas many bands of this genre rely on deep/borderline death metal growls, DDG vocal department (I say department because it sounds like at least 3 members of the band are singing/screaming half the time) provide us with abrasive shrieking and throaty screams. On top of this, the band now use clean singing passages through most of the songs – something which I don’t normally like in this style of music but it works.

The atmospheric feel to In Vogue is what makes it feel like a complete album, not just a bunch of songs stuck together on a CD. The keyboards give the songs a spacey vibe and often break into genuine piano parts.

Do yourself a favour and don’t dismiss this band as a bunch of skinny,

screaming fashion kids. Ignore the press photos and put their album on

(through some headphones preferably) and enjoy the sound of a young

band doing their best to be creative.

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