 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
||||
|
Tracks:
|
I wasn't sure if I should review this CD or not. When I first heard this CD, I was completely blown away until I reached track 10. Then I stopped dead in my tracks in absolute horror. Track 10 is "H.M.J." What does that stand for you ask? Care to hazard a guess? Yeah, it's Heavy Metal Jesus. Now, I suppose if you are a Christian, this might not seem like such a big deal. I am not one who practices any religion (beyond that of heavy metal…Manowar be praised!) and so I like to keep that separate from the music. Separation of church and music should be a law (joke). After hearing that I did a little homework and apparently they are a Christian band. Now I ended up looking at all the other songs in a new light. I had heard other reviews of them and it was never mentioned (don't ask, don't tell I guess), so I was shocked how well they seemed to be doing for a Christian band. In the end, I decided to give them a fair shake and just pretend that there is no track 10. The rest of the songs are vague enough that I can delude myself into thinking they really mean they are chasing the dragon and other fantasy themes. And it really is a great CD. But I get ahead of myself there. This CD starts off without any fluff or filler. Big drums, big riffs, and this singer has a great voice. Very melodic yet not so high and whiny. Some albums take a few listens to grab you, not this one. It sucks you in right away and just friggin rocks! Wonderful hooks. Did I mention the incredible guitar playing? Very nice and clean production. The second song, "In Flames You Burn", starts off quiet and pretty and the vocals remind me of this German Celtic band called Bardic. I don't know if they are signed or what, I heard them on MP3.com, but that is a great band, you should look them up. I bet Dream Evil has a great live show, because this CD is very packed full of energy. If they translate it well to the stage, I'm sure they are a force to be reckoned with. In "Kingdom of the Damned" I am reminded a bit of the old 80's metal tune "Child of the Damned" by Warlord (not to be confused with Iron Maiden's "Children of the Damned.") Just kind of the way that he pronounces the line. I like that song, so it's no problem to me that they sound similar. And overall, I like Dream Evil better than Warlord anyway. The song "The Chosen Ones" is just freaking awesome. This is definitely my favorite track on the CD. It's got it all. Catchy chorus, cool lyrics, cool music. This song has me ready to join the damn fool Crusades. "Losing You" changes gears from all the faux fantasy and slips us a love ballad. Not a bad tune, although it makes me think of something 70's like Journey or REO Speedwagon or something crazy like that. And the verse vocal meter sounds straight out of Dio's "Rock N Roll Children". That's better. "The 7th Day" kicks back into metal gear. "Heavy Metal in the Night" is a bit dated lyrically. It's just so 80's and been done to sing about metal anymore (unless of course you happen to be Manowar, then it's the coolest shit ever.) Hammerfall is guilty of this too. But for what it is it's a good song. Let me sum all this up for you. Overall, this CD is a spectacular dose of true heavy metal. If you can get over the god-speak innuendo, you will probably like Dream Evil. I would have given this a full on 5 but for the religious crap. Maybe they give it a rest on their new "Evilized" CD. I guess we will see. |
|||
