Swedish Rockers Degreed Bring Back The 80s with Terrier Energy

 

ALBUM REVIEW: DEGREED - The Leftovers Volume I (EP) - Frontiers Music s.r.l.

I can't wait for Volume II. Seriously. Cannot wait because Volume I rocks.
Wait.
I should end with that. Lemme tell you about Degreed's The Leftovers Volume I (Frontiers Music s.r.l.) first.
Celebrating their fifteenth year these  Swedish metal monsters feel genetically engineered to spike my amygdala with joy juice. "If It Wasn't For Me" opens with a Bon Jovi-esque apology to a lover because "This could be perfect/If it wasn't for me. . . If it wasn't for me/You wouldn't be crying." Instead of a schmaltzy power ballad we get a rocker - straight-up eighties-style MTV Headbangers Ball glossy guitar solos and strong, clear vocals.
Daniel Johansson's tortilla chip-crunchy guitars open "Good Enough," destined to be some affirmation junky's new favorite song.  I mean, how many times can "I'm good enough" pound through your skull before you'll believe it? The relentlessly upbeat and frantically paced "Love Your Enemy" follows and ends with a literal smash. The guitar solo's a bit short, but welcome, nonetheless.
Keeping up the pace "Wildchild" pleads "Can't you hear me screaming? I'm not a bad guy. I'm a Wildchild" and more self-defensive lines with reckless abandon. This particular guitar solo kicks hard while doing things I didn't quite expect.  The second one (yes two guitar solos in one song!) is a bit more standard, but still squeezes out more amygdala joy juice.
"Get Up!" live has got to make any venue pulsate with the energy of a thousand feral cats. As good as the verses are and the singing in general, "Get Up!" repeated at this beat would be impossible for a corpse to ignore. (Another great little Johansson solo accent only ups the awesome.)
Given the straight Hair Metal vibe of the first five tracks, I suppose a power ballad was to be expected.  "Hard To Be Human," at least hits the "power" side of power ballad and keeps the schmaltz level to a minimum.
The digital (and review) version of this is only six tracks. It also happens to be available now. At the time of this writing, you'll need to wait until July 18, 2025 to buy the physical version and get nine tunes. I can only hope they're as punchy and fun as these six.


Buy the album here: https://ffm.to/degreedleftoversi
9 / 10
LARRY ROGERS

Larry Rogers, Ghost Cult Magazine, Degreed, Frontiers Music s.r.l., Daniel Johnsson, Bon Jovi, Hair Metal, Power Ballad, Headbangers Ball, MTV, Yugoboy Productions, Yugoboy's Stereo