Artist: Dream Evil
Label: Century Media
Release: 2003
Evil is terrorizing planet Earth once again! Only half a year has passed since the band’s debut, and the boys are back. They’ve made the music even nastier than on the first record. Finally, one of those Scandinavian bands that’s been vaccinated against sugar. The new Evilized only confirms it.
The songs are proper battle anthems, and the crazy headbanger “Made Of Metal” stands out in particular. I can say without hesitation that it’s a masterpiece (lyrically too, a real metal prayer). After three speed-of-light smashers in a row, the guys slow the tempo down with a gorgeous, melancholic title track. In the dark, obscurely atmospheric “Bad Drems”, the lead guitar makes use of a flanger, which brings it close to R. Blackmore’s antics with Rainbow in its middle section. The keyboards are once again tastefully used (that graced the debut too), creating a polished sound and adding an extra atmospheric charge to Dream Evil’s music. All of this shows that the batch of songs on the new record has even more variability and diversity than the debut. The songs, compact and fluid, are even more refined than on the debut (and that’s after only half a year, the chemistry in the band must be working fantastically) and the production has been improved further as well. The bass line holds its own against the other instruments in terms of sound. The sound is full and alive, which I badly miss in Scandinavian power metal. For a real contrast, the experienced Snowie Shaw is back on drums, weaving all kinds of rolls into the transitions, with a real sonic devastation. A heartfelt performance from the guy, who hits with all his might. And the production has successfully captured this living energy of the drums. The dude is a real Martian. Buried in cymbals, his drum setup uses only double bass drums and a snare, and for toms just a “kettle”. And I mustn’t forget the expressive, energetic singing either, which has nothing in common with some high-pitched Nordic power metal crybaby.
The guys prove they’re forging themselves into an exemplary steel metal machine. The band doesn’t hide its high ambitions. We’ll see what the future brings.
Lineup
Niklas Isfeldt – vocals
Fredrik Nordström – guitar, keyboards
Gus G. – guitar
Peter Stålfors – bass guitar
Snowy Shaw – drums
Production
Fredrik Nordström & Dream Evil
Track List
1. Break the Chains
2. By My Side
3. Fight You ‘Till the End
4. Evilized
5. Invisible
6. Bad Dreams
7. Forevermore
8. Children of the Night
9. Live a Lie
10. Fear the Night
11. Made of Metal
12. End
Trajanje albuma: 47.13
