EP Review: With Heavy Hearts – Sparks (Self Released)

I know what you are thinking. Who the hell are these, right? Well, I don’t actually know, not very much anyway. An invite from the band for me to check out their page on Facebook informed me that they are Scandinavian and play Melodic Death Metal which is pretty much all I need to want to at least give a band a try so, for the first time ever, let’s see what they are all about.

Just by looking through their information, not through prior knowledge, on that same (anti) social network, I know that the band are a foursome. The members are Adam Svensson on vocals, Emil Gustavsson on guitars, Magus Kallstrom on bass and finally, Pontus Lundstedt on drums. They originate from a town called Orebro in Sweden and, as far as I can see formed around April/May 2015 with this EP, being their first ever proper release.

This debut EP is short, really short actually with just 3 tracks on it though, as it is a debut, perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise. The 3 tracks come to just under 9 minutes in total length so this really is going to be a very brief glance into the band.

The first tracks is called Sparks and it is 2 minutes and 44 seconds long. It starts with a building effect before the rest of the instruments jump in and leave the effect as just background filler. As a song it is quite and introduction and doesn’t pull any punches. The riff is rhythmic and the drums follow that same pattern until the vocals start. At this point the drums become prominent. Vocals are death metal throughout, no soft singing, and have loads of power and agression to them. It is a strong introduction to a new band and, with that synth effect in the background adds a hint of Cipher System or Children of Bodom to it which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Track 2 is called Drifter and features an additional vocalist in Phillip Strand. Another very short effect at the beginning is quickly overtaken by the guitar riff and some explosive drum beats. Vocals are aggressive and impressive while the instruments play a fast but lower toned, groove mix with a prominent bass line through to the chorus where additonal vocals add some melodic styling over the angry growls. The two different vocal styles sound brilliant together and the early effect is still there, barely, in the background adding an extra layer of depth. Even with the softer vocals in the chorus, this track feels angrier and heavier than the first and is really enjoyable.

Track 3, the final one, is called Surrender and was the first single released by With Heavy Hearts. An effect acts almost as a lead guitar line at the beginning of this song and the drums are impressively fast, especially through the verses. Vocals are even more furious than on the previous songs and it all flies along at a brutal pace with a catchy riff holding everything together. A brief slow down near the end adds a very short respite before it explodes back into life even faster and heavier than before and, as the song approaches the end it cranks up the agression another notch with shouts of “Rise” over impressively heavy drums, bass and guitar before it starts to fade out.

With Heavy Hearts definitely appear to have bucket loads of potential and talent. The singers vocals are really good and ooze power and agression but all instruments here seem to be working in perfect harmony with each other. Catchy riffs, strong vocals, blazing drums and a thumping bass mixed with well put together songs is really much more than you can hope for from a band starting out on what I hope will be a long and fruitful career. I only mark it down a bit for the length of the EP really as 9 minutes of music is not a lot to make a fair judgement on. It is, however, enough to excite me for their first full album release which is being worked on now. Definitely worth checking this EP out and keeping an eye out for that album.