Do you remember Dream Evil? You’d be forgiven if you’ve forgotten. It’s been 7 years since the band last released an album, but the Swedish power metallers make a ballsy return with their aptly titled new album ‘Six‘.
[tracklist]
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
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Century Media[/record_label]
[release_date]26th May, 2017[/release_date]
[/details]
In my own humble opinion, Dream Evil have always been a pure representation of that very average European power metal band that just were perhaps influenced by Manowar a little too much. You face the reality though that out of all those average power metal bands, Dream Evil stand out because they are very well produced and they don’t take themselves to seriously in their approach to music. Perhaps that’s why so many people enjoy them.
The band never officially called it a day, but remained inactive for quite some time after the release of 2010’s ‘In The Night‘. Alas Dream Evil needed to make sure that fans knew they were still around, and decided to surprise everyone with a sixth album, ‘Six‘.
That uncreative title alone really should have said everything about what the comeback album would actually sound like – it’s remarkably average yet with excellent production value, so nothing has really changed about Dream Evil in that regard. What’s a little different about ‘Six‘ though is that the band seem to have made this album for themselves.
Tracks like ‘Antidote‘ and ‘Creature of the Night‘ are a playful take on heavy metal riffing, more or less showing the band intended on having a lot of fun on the album. Something that’s simple enough to remove recording stresses, yet leaving room for every heavy metal influence they’ve ever had to wriggle it’s way into the sound.
The album isn’t going to impress much if your looking for a record that his going to be a collective of heartfelt songwriter’s brilliance, but what does make it worth a listen is the execution of guitar solos – they are sublime. I found myself subconsciously playing air guitar in tracks such as ‘How To Start A War‘ and ‘44 Riders‘.
‘Six‘ is by no means a grandiose comeback album that a lot of fans were hoping for, but it does epitomise what Dream Evil are really all about – just some basic heavy metal to have fun with. If you’re looking for a serious power metal album that has a unique edge, this is definitely not for you. If you’re looking for some heavy metal background noise to help you through your day, that’s the reason to invest in this album.
[verdict]Maybe[/verdict]
[why]’Six’ is not the epic Dream Evil comeback you would expect. It’s a very average heavy metal record, but the guitar solos make it worth at least one spin.[/why]
