MAGG DYLAN is an original alternative metal band from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their first album, Amethyst, is set to release in February 2020. At first listen, the sweet, high pitched voice of vocalist Suzanne De Lulio seems mismatched and out of place with the hard, heavy music accompanying it. But it is worth investing the time to listen two or three times until it clicks. It will click. MAGG DYLAN walks a line between emotional, heavy ballads, and fun, cocky songs that make listeners feel powerful and rebellious. De Lulio sings about such personal and heartfelt topics as addiction, bullying and family drama. Even though the songs are very serious, something about the way De Lulio sings them, perhaps the realness, perhaps some level of attitude, makes the songs incredibly fun.

"F.I.N.E." may be the best example. The song takes that typical experience of saying "I'm fine," when we are very much not fine, and wrote a whole story surrounding it. Thankfully it isn't about the cliched fight with a boyfriend, but about big life issues and the emotional labor it takes to keep going when everything is going wrong. The lyrics make it so real, so relatable. "You shouldn't have told me/ I begged you to tell me/ I feel it inside/ I swear I'm fine," the narrator says in the chorus. The music is emotional and jagged, and she busts out just a taste of unclean vocals, a guttural "emotional" near the end of the song. The use of unclean vocals so sparingly makes it stand out as a beautiful, little treat.

"Tearz" is an interesting song. The music at first feels a little dated, somehow comes together to make a great listen, along with a beautiful, serene chorus. "Naked Alone in the Tub" stands out as a gorgeous, emotional song. Most of the song is slow and quiet, but it is incredibly beautiful. The drum-heavy song makes a play where the music mimics the narrator's heartbeat, while she mournfully croons, "This is my heart beating/ this is my heart breaking." So much of the musical experience of MAGG DYLAN is based around the vocals of De Lulio, and unfortunately, she often sounds drowned out by the music. Perhaps that is a conscious choice by the band, but it makes for uncomfortable listening.

There are split seconds where MAGG DYLAN resembles FLYLEAF, HALESTORM, RASPUTINA, and IN THIS MOMENT. Perhaps those comparisons are inevitable, but the band DEFINITELY stands on its own as original, powerful, and fun to listen to.