Album Review: New Years Day – Half Black Heart (Century Media Records)

Heavy rockers New Years Day will release their fifth studio album, ‘Half Black Heart’, on March 1st, 2024 via Century Media Records.

There is a ton of anticipation for this record, not just because of the quality singles that have been released prior, but because of New Years Day’s stellar reputation for delivering anthemic heavy rock hits. It’s their ‘bread and butter’ and they continue to showcase just why they are so popular with a ton of bangers on this new album.

Starting off with Vampyre, New Years Day come out of the starting blocks hot. Pouring a lot of vitriol into the music but sticking with anthemic values so everyone can find their voice and sing along loudly. The highlight of the track though is the breakdown, in particular the dastardly roar that preempts it.

A top start, but the fire is dampened slightly by the following title track. That’s not meant in a negative way though. This is a more melodically and moodily charged listen, with a chorus that soars, but it shows New Years Day’s metal versatility. This is a major part of their sound, even though the instrumentals are still very heavy, and listeners should be more than prepared for variety,

After all, it’s the spice of life and this album has a lot of flavours to offer. Smashing and crashing with an EDM infused banger like Hurts Like Hell, delivering an instrumentally abrasive heavyweight like Secrets, showing off more of their pop sensibilities with Fearless (what a chorus), and keeping the anthemic qualities front and centre with Bullet Proof. This is super-accessible music, heavy enough to please the metal crowd, but extremely likely to turn the heads of those who love music you can move and sing to.

It’s fair to say that Burn It All Down covers both too, and the cinematic sheen this track has, is delightful. It’s a near-perfect blend of massive melodies, experimental touches, and crunching heaviness. One of the bets tracks on the entire album because it is so exciting.

It’s worth pointing out now, as it’s not been said yet, that a major draw of this album is the lyrical content too. New Years Day deliver relatable words and vocalist Ash has so much heart and soul. Every song has words that resonate, but for many, the words of Enemy and I Still Believe will hit harder than most. Alongside layers of interesting electronica, strong instrumentals, and choruses that go so f**king hard. The latter is sure to be a fan favourite because it is simple, but acutely, infectious.

Think they’re done? Not even close as Unbreak My Heart brings forth the album’s biggest sounding chorus, the melodies really cutting through, and the heavy switch near the end smashing the soul into bits. New Years Day ending this album with some of their grandest tracks of all. With no further proof needed then So Sick and Creature of Habit’s addictive qualities. This is a great album.

New Years Day – Half Black Heart Track Listing:

1. Vampyre
2. Half Black Heart
3. Hurts Like Hell
4. Secrets
5. Fearless
6. Bullet Proof
7. Burn It All Down
8. Enemy
9. I Still Believe
10. Unbreak My Heart
11. So Sick
12. Creature of Habit

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