Artist: Dream Evil
Title: In The Night
Type: Album
Label: Century Media

‘Twas the Saturday before Xmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, well, except for me. Its 2AM and, in the throes of the dreaded man flu (sorry boys, you do not have the monopoly on being big babies when it comes to the sniffles), I can’t sleep a wink and it’s the moment my other half has been waiting for…after 18 months of persistent yammering I give in and succumb to the evils of online gaming. So in my shiny purple armour, my Necromancing n00b is poised for battle, ready for whatever nerd-kind may throw at me whether it is battling against Grawl and Bandit Raiders or kicking some giant wormy thing’s butt but as I venture through the gates of Ascalon City I get a sense that something ain’t right. No, this is all wrong…I need some music, and not just any will suffice, it must be the kind that will magically transform my heart into steel and send liquefied metal coursing through my veins, that will give me the courage to laugh and poise in my furry loincloth when faced with danger. Oh yes, Dream Evil…that’ll do just nicely...

…For Nick Night and his merry cohorts are no mere mortals. No, this is a horde of Fearless Warriors, who spit on those who choose to pose…and all that shtick. It’s all brotherhoods and battles, and rather like a kebab after a heavy night on the razz, you know in your heart of hearts that it’s quite preposterous, but it’s bloody satisfying!! I mean, their lyrics are as deep as a paddling pool but who hasn’t honestly found themselves screaming along to ‘In The Book Of Heavy Metal?’ It does amaze me somewhat, listening to ‘Bang Your Head’ just how many songs can be squeezed from the concept of simply being part of the metal brethren; banging one’s head and drinking beer (see ‘The Ballad’) and being made of steel, but it’s all good fun so long as you take it for what it is.

This is an album comprised of the usual mighty riffs, electrifying lead guitars and drums that pound you in like a warhammer. It’s incredibly catchy, in fact, perhaps more-so than much of their previous albums when you hear numbers like ‘In The Night’ which has the kind of chorus to which you can’t help but pound your fist and sing along to and gives you that power-up boost you’ll need to go out killing monsters in their many. ‘Frostbite’ charges at you with some mean, galloping riffs; it’s true heavy metal to the core and of course produced by Fredrik Nordstrom (AKA Ritchie Rainbow on the gee-tarr) you know sound is beefed up to the max.

‘See The Light’ has a lick that really has me wanting to beat it and get my Moonwalk on, and there’s a soft and hugely melodic feel to this that brings to mind some later efforts from Gus G’s Firewind (of course fans will know he left Dream Evil to pursue this as a full time effort). ‘Unchosen One’ seems to be kind of a return to ‘The Chosen Ones’ on Dragonslayer, with a very similar melody to it that is instantly familiar. Overall there are some really strong, memorable tracks on this album and fans shouldn’t be disappointed. It didn’t save me from getting killed by a horde of Scalefish though! Tssk.

http://www.dreamevil.se/

Luci (Not a geek, honest!) Herbert

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