Music magazines tend to be flooded with demos from up and coming hopefuls at the best of times, the quality of which varies from the downright awful, the good-but-generic, right through to the genuinely interesting, groundbreaking releases which we are occasionally fortunate enough to stumble across by chance. Which brings me to this 3-track demo from UK-based, four-piece band Carpe Diem....
  From the word go, it's obvious that Carpe Diem are more than just another metal band. Drawing on other influences from outwith metal (such as funk and classical), with the emphasis strictly on writing memorable songs with catchy choruses, they have delivered a very promising demo, which hints at a great future. Having played together for a few years now, they are paying their dues and building a reputation not only as a great band, but also one that brings something different to the table. After a year of searching for a new vocalist, Carpe Diem have finally found the missing link, and with this a songwriting formula that takes their music to another level.
  Despite only containing 3 tracks, this demo shows a lot of promise, from a band who truly believe in what they're doing. The depth contained in opening track Futures sets out their stall from the beginning. A track that is both powerful and dynamic, they manage to sound both powerful and memorable. This quality is maintained on the other tracks Everything We've Lost and the fine closing number One Last Summer.
  The only real downside is that this demo I received only contains three tracks, making it a little harder to form conclusive opinions and with a fair bit of musical ground covered herein, it's even harder to really pin down their target audience based on this material alone. However, the news that they have now found a stable line-up can only be a good thing and hopefully they will continue to hone their sound further.
  Having said all that, purely on the strength of this release, I would say that their diversity could well be their strongest asset, one that will hopefully transcend genre boundaries and attract a fanbase from far afield. Indeed, they have impressively managed to avoid the pitfalls of sounding generic or trend-hopping in any way. Certainly a band to look out for in the near future.