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Devil in Me

“On the Grind” (Cargo Records & Dead Serious Recordings, 2021)

This one came out a while back, but for better accuracy I went back to 2006 and their first record, “Born to Lose”. The band has been, since their inception, on a constant evolution. DIM is a classic Hardcore band. More melodic, or more “rough around the edges”, the band has plenty of versions of what Hardcore is. I have always loved their more melodic side, and I got that with “The End”. It is also, in my opinion, their darker release. The title of the album and some of the songs, the atmospheres… nonetheless, I always believed that this was their best album ever. “Soul Rebel” came out in 2015 and it showed a band in full force! Crazy riffs, lots of energy and spot-on messages. In that specific point I always felt the band had a very Hardcore message; very straight to the core of the genre and all its richness and “Statutes”.

2021, and a new release is announced. I do not remember what the first single was, but I recall finding very little DIM. And we can go back to the constant evolution mentioned in the beginning. The band that came from classic Hardcore was now performing a more Crossover type Hardcore. The good thing about the band is that they are more Hardcore than Thrash, which makes it a balanced fusion of both genres.

According to an interview I read with Poli - vocalist - the addition of a new guitar player - João Brito - a fan of Thrash Metal, might explain why the band sounds more Heavy Metal than ever. “Awake” shows the band fusing Thrash Metal and Hardcore in even doses, and what a hell of a tune it is. The pace, the groove… in that same interview the journalist (Emanuel Ferreira, LOUD!) mentions just that: the fact that the band did not lose their groove from the inclusion of harder sounds in their music, is astonishing! Nonetheless, Hardcore is still very much present, and the remaining songs show that the band has not forgotten how to destroy it all! But changes have been made to the band’s sound, oh yeah…

“War” is a hard-hitting track, packed with groove and bound to be the perfect soundtrack for plenty of stage dives! Old School style, no doubt. The idea that DIM was, for a long time, a mere Madball clone, is abusive and insulting. Does the band have influences from one of NYHC’s greatest? Yeah, no doubt; does that mean the band basically steals their sound from the mentioned band? C’mon, stupid you must be! “On the Grind” shows a band that has earned, with hard work, all that life has given them. Many kilometers of road, many stages around Europe, many crowds conquered… the band is where they deserve to be.

Are they in their top form? “The End” is still my favorite from the band, but I was surprised with “On the Grind”. The ones where the band focuses their sound more on Hardcore than Thrash are the best, in my opinion. I love their Old School approach to the sound, and they have this ability to give their music a harsh and aggressive tone, as well as a very melodic and accessible side. It might sound strange, but the duality in their work is perfect. “Awake” takes 1st place, and it is a very fusion song, which contradicts my words on the Hardcore VS Thrash thing LOL that guitar is hard as fuck! But, at the same time, both are very, very well-balanced.

Now, will we need to wait as long as we did for new music? Hopefully not. “Soul Rebel” blasting. Peace!


Cargo Records UK

Dead Serious

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