Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Dream Evil
Label: Century Media
Release: 2017
Length: 57:09
Rating: 4/5
It’s been a long time since the notorious Snowy Shaw (Therion) and Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne) played in Dream Evil. The Swedish power metallers, who’ve been hammering away at the steel since 1999, are back on the scene with a new studio album. It’s tellingly titled »Six«, meaning it’s the band’s (just barely) sixth, and in fact the first in seven years, since its predecessor »In the Night« came out.
What’s behind the somewhat longer gaps between albums that we’ve gotten used to from the band over the last thirteen years doesn’t even matter, because »Six« delivers exactly what fans of the band have been waiting for. Dream Evil aren’t reinventing the wheel with »Six«. They bring what they know and do best. They keep riding the tried-and-tested recipe of the ossified school of power metal inherited from the neighbors to the south, i.e. Germany.
What does that mean? At times the band sounds uncannily like old Primal Fear. Next to the piercing, straight-to-the-point, chopped-off riffs, the extra weight on the scale, the thing that co-creates an atmosphere akin to old Primal Fear, is Niklas Isfeldt’s superb vocal, which keeps an exceptionally wide range even in his mature years. The voice is explosive, powerful and authoritative in every register he takes on, delivered with vehement execution. Niklas is also an important element that brings extra musicality into the very fabric of the songs.
But Dream Evil don’t only know the top speed gear on this album, as the opening stretch with the crushers Dream Evil and Antidote hints. The third track, Sin City, already draws some inspiration in its catchy chorus from the legacy of European hard rock, with The Scorpions being the closest match. This moment of pomp grows another notch later on, when the band tackles the unbelievably infectious Creatures of the Night. No wonder Dream Evil picked it as the lead single of the new album. The verse melody in Hellrider follows the verse melody of War Pigs by Black Sabbath. A striking way of recycling. Six Hundred and 66 is, as the title itself demands, one of the darkest points of the new album. In the second half the adrenaline rush picks up again, thanks to the sped-up How To Start to War and the Priest-inspired The Murdered Mind. Dream Evil get a touch faster still in Too Loud, where the resemblance of the lead riff to old Primal Fear is even stronger. The album closes with We Are Forever. For the tail end of the record the band bet on a boost of bombast and anthemic grandeur, though another fast, rabid power metal basher would have gone down a treat
Anyway. Dream Evil are softening up a bit in their mature years too, but it’s not as alarming as with some of the band’s contemporaries, right, Primal Frear? The wide span of years between the new album and its predecessor has sprinkled in a heap of excellent ideas that the new compositions are built on, polished down to the last detail since the band had plenty of time. Excellent solos, a razor-sharp production of dominant, sharply serrated phrasing, a compact sense of musicality and pomp, a piercing vocal performance and a huge variety of lead motifs deliver a fresh, exceptionally fine, high-quality product to the scene.
So »Six« is simply what you expect and demand from Dream Evil. Flawless. The production keeps all the trademarks of the band’s (by now well-worn) metal recipe. Let’s hope the guys tour somewhere near Slovenia so we can check out their live form and, along with it, how the material from »Six« works live.
Dream Evil – Dream Evil (official video):
Line-up
Niklas Isfeldt – vocals
Fredrik Nordström – guitar
Mark U Black – guitar
Peter Stålfors – bass
Patrik Jerksten – drums
Production
Fredrik Nordström
Track list
01. Dream Evil
02. Antidote
03. Sin City
04. Creature Of The Night
05. Hellride
06. Six Hundred And 66
07. How To Start A War
08. The Murdered Mind
09. Too Loud
10. 44 Riders
11. Broken Wings
12. We Are Forever
