Mendeed

Let me ask you guys a simple question. How often do you find a metal band that hails from Scotland? Not very often, right? Well now your search is over. Mendeed just so happens to be a sick Scottish metal band. Mendeed’s playing style is somewhat similar to Trivium, with the wicked sounding riffs and powerful vocals. It’s kind of funny how that works, considering both bands have covered a Metallica song. The song that Mendeed decided to cover happened to be “The Thing That Should Not Be.” This metal power house consists of Dave Proctor (vocals), Chris Lavery (bass/vocals), Steven Nixon (lead guitar), Steph Gildea (guitar), and Kevin Matthews (drums).

First up on the album is “Burning Fear.” The track opens with a cool little metalcore-ish riff, which sounds somewhat similar to the style that Between The Buried And Me uses. Dave’s vocal style is unique compared to the usual vocal styles used in modern metal. He does scream, but he’s got a bit of a different tone, giving the band a bit more distinction from other groups. The occasional pinch harmonic is utterly amazing with this band. The distortion level used is absolutely perfect for pinch harmonics, and it helps that Steve and Steph know where to put them.

“Gravedigger” is fifth on The Dead Live By Love. The intro to this track has got to be one of the best intros I’ve heard in my entire life. It’s heavy, loud, and just insane. It’s got a slight little solo near the beginning, giving the listener a taste of what’s to come. The palm muted riff after about a minute is just sick; it gave me mad chills listening to it. This has got to be the best track on the album! The vocals are rough at some points, with Chris adding in a softer vocal style to accompany the brutality of Dave’s chords.

Ninth up is “Reload N’ Kill,” which just reading the title is enough to give chills. Again, the sick palm muted intro is downright remarkable. Dave’s vocals are even more bone chilling in this track (maybe he’s a sadistic guy like myself). The drum rolls and beats throughout the track were out of this world; just the right amount of snare, symbol, and bass.

On the whole, this is one of the best records that Nuclear Blast has put out in a few years. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Mendeed will make it farther than any of us can even imagine; maybe they’ll be bigger than Metallica one day. Only time will tell. I’m giving this masterpiece a 10/10. Go Scotland!  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Burning Fear
02. Fight
03. Dead Live By Love
04. Fuel The Fire
05. Gravedigger
06. Our War
07. Blood Brothers
08. Through Dead Eyes
09. Reload ‘N’ Kill
10. Take Me As I Am
11. It’s Not Over Yet
12. Thirteen

Run Time: 52:58