The sensational youngsters, the Swedish Modern Melodic Hard Rockers DEGREED that was founded in 2005, are about to release their third album. Still playing a very special blend of Scandinavian Heavy AOR with some contemporary influences, but also in coherency with the more commercial and catchy side of the genre...Spiced up with some Prog Rock gimmicks and a huge loads of Melodic hooks with of course some demented high-level playing sequences, with each and every elements pushed at its maximum (like in the early single "Kill Your Darlings")...And finally unveiled all their talented creativity and even a new found heaviness!

The new album's title is "Dead But Not Forgotten" which is scheduled for a worldwide release on June 19 via Sun Hill Production. And this is a short analysis. Well for a future favorite!

If DEGREED, has surprised me with their debut album, a little jewel called "Life Love Loss" (the band was revealed to the world by Andrew McNiece from MelodicRock.Com who signed them in the rooster of his small record company)... In 2013, when the sophomore & splendid album "We Don't Belong" was published, it was an obvious confirmation: As always the band delivers that special mix of AOR/Modern Rock with an unexpected instrumental level while still keeping the melodic intensity and the stylistic diversity as main focus...Finally, both albums were acclaimed worldwide by media and fans

In between, I had the chance to witness their incredible show at Väsby Rock Festival 2014...Now let's go back to the new "Dead But Not Forgotten" which had fulfilled all my expectations and beyond !

Good news...They stick to their own recipe...What strikes the most is their sheer abilities to refresh the classic old AOR recipes ("Start Again" / "Better Safe Than Sorry") with elements borrowed from Classic Rock ("Shame On Me"), Power Pop ("Face The Fact"/ "Firefly" / "Touch Of Paradise"), Prog Rock ("Madness" / "Forgive You") or Scandinavian melodic Metal ("The Scam" / "Drama") with still a solid consistency in their sound...Once again Robin Ericsson delivers a very impressive vocal performance and all along the record, he manages to keep a fresh unity in the different musical genre and the heterogeneous ingredients perfectly mixed up here.

Now, I believe that the band, found a great promotion team, and indeed with such a rich album under their belt, they could reach the higher places in the new AOR Scandinavian Revival scene. A panorama ruled by H.E.A.T. or BROTHER FIRETRIBE with the advantage and a superior asset, in the DEGREED's case, there is not a single trace of nostalgia.