Forever at Midnight have been raising eyebrows for almost a year now: active in the Sydney metalcore and alt-rock landscape, the talented group has slowly risen to the top, now setting themselves up for international recognition. ‘Diabolical Girl’ is their latest effort, a fiery and striking three-track EP that’s as meaningful as it is hard-hitting and euphoric. There are a few factors at play here; for instance, let’s focus on ‘Hollow Eyes’, the record’s closing episode.
Rather gloomy and haunting, the track showcases Forever at Midnight’s intricate and witty riffing ability, balancing slender and vocal-based verses with fuller, destructive choruses. Vocals shift between Sidonie Winer’s powerful, clean tones and Dan Hennighan’s screamy ad-libs, creating a fictional battle between light and darkness, a contrast between evocative, relatable lyricism and noisy chaos. That’s a duality we’ll find often in Forever at Midnight’s work, perhaps one of the group’s main strengths.
Delving into introspective and reflective themes, ‘Diabolical Girl’ jumps into the depths of human consciousness without fear, embracing the challenges of self-growth, anger management and the shattering reality left by a past relationship. Such themes are all treated with firm resolution, eventually looking for a way out – one that can likely be found in the EP’s empowering, majestic aural independence. Evan Hughes and Josh Kim complete the band’s lineup.
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