DEAR BLACK DIARY 'Dear Black Diary' (Year of the Sun) RATING: 6.5/10

By RYAN MAVITY

If nothing else, Dear Black Diary has a nominee for “Song Title of the Year” in “Life is the Number One Cause of Death,” from their self-titled EP.

This new band certainly brings an interesting sound to the table. It’s sort of like brutal death metal combined with a little black metal and noisecore. Considering the style, the musical chops are impressive. The vocals veer between a Dimmu Borgir/Mayhem-like wail to a death growl like Dying Fetus. Much like Cattle Decapitation, the guys in the band do not at all fit the stereotype of a hardcore heavy metal band. They look more like film school students than anything else.

At only 16 minutes, Dear Black Diary is a nice sampler of what these guys can do. While most of the songs are typical of the noisecore and death metal styles, the final track, “A Variation of the Colour Red,” hints at a side to the band that seems more mature musically. All told, this EP is about what you would expect from a demo: raw, unrestrained and rough. But Dear Black Diary holds out some promise for those that enjoy metal that mixes a little brains and brawn.