Dream Evil – United
Century Media – 77570-2P – October 16 2006
By Dan Fisher
Dream Evil play a turbo-charged assault of classical metal riffage, coupled with commanding vocals that create a force to be reckoned with. Their latest offering,
United, sees them building on their previous efforts with catchy-as-hell songs to reignite the
’Fire!’ and
’Battle!’ in all of us. Formed in 1999, recent line-up changes have meant that a full studio album has not materialised since 2004’s
The Book Of Heavy Metal. Don’t call it a comeback though, as they have been touring Japan and have taken the stage in many of Europe’s premier metal festivals including
Wacken and
Sweden Rock.
The first thing that strikes you about this album is the great production values that allow the venomous guitars to remain just that, while the drums sound like Thor himself is hammering through your stereo. Niklas Isfeldt’s vocals are quite brilliant at times, a standout track for his talents being
‘Back From The Dead’ where he reminded this reviewer of a young Devin Townsend. More like that please! The main selling point of this band though is the tunes. Now when I say tunes I mean
tunes. Melodies that are so goddamn catchy that you will be singing them happily in the shower for weeks to come. What
Dream Evil have forged in the alchemy of
United is an unrelenting hook-fest; they know exactly how to do good honest metal, executed with conviction. The only downside to this is that the band are on a path already trodden by many others, and so run the risk of being labelled ‘just another power metal band’. This would be a shame as they do seem to hint at trying some new ideas. For example, the track
‘Love Is Blind’ has a brooding atmosphere that builds into a great metal chorus. This shows an ambition that a lot of other artists in the genre lack. If they could capitalise on this and progress even further then they would surely become leaders in their field.
A classic? Perhaps not, but all the same
Dream Evil have created a solid effort that shows elements of originality, impressive musicianship and above all the ability to effortlessly craft anthems of the fist-pumping variety.
7/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Dream Evil Website
Official Century Media Website
