Dreamaker - Enclosed 4/5
Reviewed: 4-1-05
Tracklist:
1. I live my own life
2. Reverse universe
3. Over the edge
4. Living in fear
5. The end of your suicide
6. Innocent blood
7. W.W.666
8. Face to face
9. Enclosed
10. Perfect soul
11. Take me higher
12. Promised heaven
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Dreamaker's 2nd CD is a total surprise with an almost completely new sound; perhaps this is the sound the band was heading towards when some of them split off from Dark Moor. The first Dreamaker CD wasn't bad, but it didn't really have its own sound. Instead it sounded more like a continuation of Dark Moor except that the songwriting, while brilliant at times, was inconsistent. With this new CD, everything has changed. Songwriting consistency is no longer a problem as all the tracks are, at least, very good in their own way. The big change, however, is the band's sound is much more hard-edged now with even some death vocals mixed in at times.
Right from the opening track it is clear that this is a different sound for the band. The first 3 tracks are all rougher and more hard-edged than anything that either Dreamaker or Dark Moor has ever done before. The tracks are darker, the riffs are heavier, the singing is harsher and throatier. One of the good things about this CD, though, is that while the new, hard-edge is obvious, they keep the vocal melodies strong and female singer Elisa still manages to sound soft and pretty at times. A few lighter (but still heavier than before) tracks, namely "Living in fear", "The end of your suicide", "Face to face" follow before the CD really opens wide open with "Enclosed" and "Perfect soul". Both of these feature death vocals for their choruses with the latter having a lengthier chorus than the title track. I am not a fan of death vocals, but they are very well done here and they are some of my favorite parts of this CD. It is important to note that the percentage of vocals on the CD that are death vocals is still very small. The CD ends on a more upbeat, melodic note but still with heavier guitars than you would expect from this band based on their history.
This is one of the more surprising releases I've heard in a while. It was a CD I had a certain expectation for and the CD ended up sounding very different from what I expected. As the quality is very high, this is a good thing as it's CDs like this which keep music interesting. Who would have guessed that a Dark Moor spinoff would feature death vocals on some tracks and, furthermore, who would have guessed that they really aren't objectionable to a non death metal fan. This is a very good, original CD which deserves the attention of many metal fans.
DAVID
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