CONQUER DIVIDE: Slow Burn (METALCORE): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Girl power. Bands with female singers are no longer rare, but 100% female formations are still a little rare. Conquer Divide is one of them. The American women enjoyed huge success in 2015 with their eponymous album, but since then they've kept a low profile, offering their fans only a few scattered crumbs five years later (the track 'Chemicals' or the cover of Billie Eilish's 'Bad Guy'). In 2022, things finally accelerated with the announcement of a surprising signing with Mascot Records. Surprising, because the style they play doesn't really predispose the girls to join a stable that includes the likes of Black Country Communion, DeWolff, Walter Trout and Steve Vai.

But what style are we talking about? Conquer Divide is labelled metalcore, a scary word if ever there was one. In truth, the Michigan quintet sounds more like Evanescence, only more modern and, above all, far more snarling, thanks to the combination of melodic female and cavernous vocals. But don't let Janel Duarte's eruptions frighten you (too much), as Kiarely Castillo's clear, powerful voice remains the cornerstone of an edifice chiselled from the very best of US rock, whose angry outbursts never detract from its beauty, as illustrated by the resurrectionist "Slow Burn".

Of course, a track like 'Afternought.wav', on which the singer who also plays bass is screaming her lungs out, strips furiously the hears. The same goes for the epidermic 'System_Failure', or the almost death metal 'Atonement' while 'Pressure' is launched by an annoyingly auto-tuned vocal. But then, Kiarely's vocal presence alone sweeps everything away (this 'OnlyGirl' has hints of R'n'B for American airwaves). For those unfamiliar with Conquer Divide, she is the great discovery of this second album, a kind of Amy Lee (Evanescence). Combined with her rock-solid songwriting, her performance propels "Slow Burn" to new heights. All the songs are as unstoppable as each other, raging but always melodic, modern but full of emotion, like 'Invisible' or 'Playing w/fire', which send shivers down your spine. Impossible to resist.

The result is a record whose ferocity and a few vocal tics that are too modern don't detract from its racy strength. "Slow Burn" is truly the best of American rock with female vocals, and Conquer Divide is its undisputed leader. - Official website

CONQUER DIVIDE

SLOW BURN

MASCOT LABEL GROUP

METALCORE