Modern Metal
Century Media
Release Date – September 1st 2023
Line Up:
Alecia ‘Mixi’ Demner – Vocals/Rhythm Guitar
Merritt Goodwin – Guitar
Randy Mathias – Bass/Backing Vocals
James Decker – Drums/Backing Vocals
Tracklist:
1 – To The Wolves
2 – Thunder
3 – The Hunting
4 – Possess Me
5 – Immortal
6 – Taste For Blood
7 – Conquer And Divide
8 – Dead Inside
9 – The Architect
10 – Part Of Me
11 – The End
I know virtually nothing about Stitched Up Heart, my research pointed me to the lead singer Alecia ‘Mixi’ Demner who has quite the social media profile despite valuing her privacy, and she is covered in ink. The band formed in LA way back in 2010 and has released two previous long players and three EPs. Having not heard any of them I can’t comment but my first impression is that is very modern sounding and includes loads of influences not just from the rock world.
Opening with the title track we get a heavy grind with taught guitars, pounding drums, and synths adding to the bass. Tell me to shut up but Mixi has a definite touch of Taylor Momsen in her vocals at times. ‘Thunder’ is angsty and passionate and brings both clean and gruff voices then ‘The Hunting’ is equal parts electro and metal with punchy guitars and stabbing keys. ‘Possess Me’ has a huge bass line and dark atmosphere which is very much continued on the heavier and faster ‘Immortal’. ‘Taste For Blood’ is synth heavy with another grinding riff underneath and Mixi lures you in with a soft smoky voice and some bloke gives it the gruff stuff behind before more synth stuff on ‘Conquer And Divide’. ‘Dead Inside’ gets jagged and stabby then we get proper punky on ‘The Architect’ before the dancy synths come back on ‘Part Of Me’ for the verses and they rattle out the chorus’ on another punk vibe. Mixi uses her voice to great effect on this going from cutesy pop to raging bitch from hell! The final cut ‘The End’ is another dark electro rocker made to be played in near dark with flashing strobes.
I know loads of people who will like this, and I must say that some of the stuff is very catchy, but I found the sounds a bit harsh at times, maybe I’m getting old, or my youth has come back to haunt me having never really been a fan of synthesizers. That said, I think this will do well and is bound to propel Stitched Up Heart further up the ladder by a few rungs.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 7/10
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