With a couple of previous releases in their 15-year career - they called it quits at some time, as stated in their presentation file - SACRED HEART is said to have toured with the likes of SAXON, Mitch Malloy, TYGERS OF PAN TANG and THE QUIREBOYS prior to working for their newest CD herein presented. The general vibe the listener can get from "Darkness Falls" is positive, no questions asked, since the band shows they have belief in their skills mixing traditional minor-scale British Hard Rock with more fresh American Rock elements, not avoiding a slice of AOR touch in some of their musical pieces.

I'd wish this review was based on the audition of a normal CD since the digital promo files are quite 'compressed' and the production shows enough of weakness and flatness (hope the finished product is more fat); the guitars' sound is unpolished for this kind of music and even if the themes are intriguing the concluding impression is quite a heartbeaker. The vocals are nice, really nice, keeping distance from being called 'professional' but with a genuine tendency to speak to your heart. The album seems to be self-financed and that's a good explanation for some mismatches omitting from SACRED HEART's no-doubt potential to rock you with a mix of melodic songs based on the likes of THUNDER, DEF LEPPARD, WHITESNAKE, NICKELBACK, HINDER and...

...that's quite a lot for a brief introduction. I won't be surprised if their up for a next Firefest billing and - anyway - would like to hear more from their camp in the near future. For a rough release spending good time with, this is an honest album (the physical CD comes with 4 bonus tracks), but if SACRED HEART wants to aim to a breathtaking level it surely will take more work to satisfy our times' cruel demands.

P.S.: The album's title is quite misleading, I'm afraid...
<