Post by thesoundmonitor on Jun 11, 2004 7:04:11 GMT -5
DREAM EVIL
The Book of Heavy Metal
(Century Media)
Any band that opens their album with a high pitched “MET-AAAAALLL!” before the music kicks in is in my book, absolutely awesome, regardless of what is to follow. This shriek sets the scene for the next 45 odd minutes; a total throwback to the glory days of 80s metal where bands were cheesy, wore tight leather pants, were cheesy, had 5 solos per song, were cheesy and at least half the songs were about metal. Oh, and did I mention cheesy?
Dream Evil’s debut album (Dragonslayer) was 100% pure powermetal, followed up by the slightly less power influenced Evilised. The band stated that they wanted to get away from the powermetal tag and with this, their third album, they may well have done just that. There is far less 'power' to this 'metal' and with the wide range of influences I'd call it 'heavy metal power rock' (to keep with the cheesiness of things lets use a cheesy genre
to suit).
After the screaming, the title-track The Book of Heavy Metal (March of the Metallians) begins. This song was released on an early EP and was a big hit in Europe apparently - I just cannot imagine this song on Australian charts. For those of us that like our metal
cheesy, and that includes me, this song will really test your loyalty to that ideal. For me it was the worst song on the disc. For, while I do consider myself a man of cheese, this is pushing the cheese-limits.
The rest of the album rips through 12 fantastic songs, each one containing at least 2 guitar solos played beautifully by Gus G. Each song sounds like an homage to a different influence. During 'No Way' I had to do a double take to my stereo to check that I wasn’t listening to an older Ozzy Osbourne album. This track is clearly Ozzy in all elements - the guitars sound just like Zakk Wylde and guest vocalist Andy Alkman sounds like he has studied Ozzy’s vocals since birth.
It all continues on in this vein, each song about the love of heavy metal, until track 7 when suddenly the lone metal warrior is a little older and doesn't want to be alone any more. This is a strange song; it almost contradicts the rest of the album. It is however, one of the best tracks on here, especially if you're a sucker for poignant ballads.
All in all this is actually a VERY good album and is quite heavy for its genre. Guitarist Fredrik Nordstrom (normally renown for his production talents with Arch Enemy, In Flames, etc) produced the disc and has done a superb job. All of the other musicians are very talented and have been around in other bands of note before.
Initially, it was hard to tell if the band were serious or tongue in cheek, especially considering the formula of the opening track. But given a few listens you can tell the band is passionate about what they do: that is play heavy metal and have a whole hell of a lot of fun doing it. And why not?
The Book of Heavy Metal
(Century Media)
Any band that opens their album with a high pitched “MET-AAAAALLL!” before the music kicks in is in my book, absolutely awesome, regardless of what is to follow. This shriek sets the scene for the next 45 odd minutes; a total throwback to the glory days of 80s metal where bands were cheesy, wore tight leather pants, were cheesy, had 5 solos per song, were cheesy and at least half the songs were about metal. Oh, and did I mention cheesy?
Dream Evil’s debut album (Dragonslayer) was 100% pure powermetal, followed up by the slightly less power influenced Evilised. The band stated that they wanted to get away from the powermetal tag and with this, their third album, they may well have done just that. There is far less 'power' to this 'metal' and with the wide range of influences I'd call it 'heavy metal power rock' (to keep with the cheesiness of things lets use a cheesy genre
to suit).
After the screaming, the title-track The Book of Heavy Metal (March of the Metallians) begins. This song was released on an early EP and was a big hit in Europe apparently - I just cannot imagine this song on Australian charts. For those of us that like our metal
cheesy, and that includes me, this song will really test your loyalty to that ideal. For me it was the worst song on the disc. For, while I do consider myself a man of cheese, this is pushing the cheese-limits.
The rest of the album rips through 12 fantastic songs, each one containing at least 2 guitar solos played beautifully by Gus G. Each song sounds like an homage to a different influence. During 'No Way' I had to do a double take to my stereo to check that I wasn’t listening to an older Ozzy Osbourne album. This track is clearly Ozzy in all elements - the guitars sound just like Zakk Wylde and guest vocalist Andy Alkman sounds like he has studied Ozzy’s vocals since birth.
It all continues on in this vein, each song about the love of heavy metal, until track 7 when suddenly the lone metal warrior is a little older and doesn't want to be alone any more. This is a strange song; it almost contradicts the rest of the album. It is however, one of the best tracks on here, especially if you're a sucker for poignant ballads.
All in all this is actually a VERY good album and is quite heavy for its genre. Guitarist Fredrik Nordstrom (normally renown for his production talents with Arch Enemy, In Flames, etc) produced the disc and has done a superb job. All of the other musicians are very talented and have been around in other bands of note before.
Initially, it was hard to tell if the band were serious or tongue in cheek, especially considering the formula of the opening track. But given a few listens you can tell the band is passionate about what they do: that is play heavy metal and have a whole hell of a lot of fun doing it. And why not?