Released by: Independent
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Power/Progressive Metal
Links: http://www.dreamcatcherofficial.com/
Line Up:
Lukas Jackson – Vocals
Adelé Pease – Keyboards
Ben Scott – Lead/Rhythm Guitars
Alexei Green – Lead/Rhythm Guitars
Rossi Lavery – Drums/Percussion
Matt Hudson – Bass Guitars
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Eyes of One
3. Take Hold
4. Balance
5. In the Depths of a Dream
6. My Sin
7. Never Look Back
It was a few short months ago that one of the band members from this Leeds, UK up and coming power progressive metal band Dreamcatcher got in touch with me to send in a promo for us to check out. As anybody knows we welcome promotional music but the fact that so much material comes in every week, makes it very hard to find good music out there. I was however fairly impressed with these guys when I checked out their you tube sounds clips of the upcoming record titled “SoulDesign”.
Alright now is time to explain myself and why I don’t just push this album to the side and move on to the countless more promo music we get every day? Well good question and without trying to sound too pretentious, I got drawn in by their sound from the onset. The one thing that jumps out is not the prototypical power metal prog trenched firmly into each songs structure, but rather the exquisite rhythm section from two unfamiliar dudes, Bassist Matt Hudson and Drummer Rossi Lavery. Never heard of these guys? Don’t feel bad neither had I.
Now we all know if you want to play hardball in this cluster clone genre you need a vocalist who can hold his own, and lucky for the band they have that in a high riser front man Lukas Jackson. You also need some keyboards right? Yeah I don’t care if you like it the keys or not they actually are used in a less annoying way as they are merely used on this album for atmospheric purposes which is a good thing. Take for instance the cool symphonic opening instrumental which intrigues the listener track called “The Yes Of One”. The guest vocals of Jacob Hansen add a powerful punch on the chorus bridge on “Take Hold”, and no not of the flame. The tight rhythm section jumps out again on the song “In The Depths Of A Dream” where the drums pierce with thundering roar. But the remainder songs follow the same meandering plot unfortunately.
Alright well here is where the fine line is held, is all about balance for me, we know that many of these progressive metal bands sound the same, I have to be honest here Dreamcatcher sounds like a typical outfit you find in the genre, in fact they’re sound is melodic and powerful but also ready? Repetitive….. How about some variation from time to time, just a little more experimentation can set you apart from the typical running course. You have a great formula already, a good vocalist, a thundering rhythm and bass section, some tight guitars and a killer production, so what do you do to push it pass the edge of redundancy? Be a little more creative for once, is okay to sound complex without sacrificing melody, take a step forward in the writing department which we all know young bands need help with at the beginning; just a few things to look forward to next time for this nice progressive bunch. The album is pretty short for a band in this type of scene, a mere 7 songs pushing 40 minutes? The remedy is there; now is up to the band to take the next step and see what they choose to become.
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 6/10
About Author
