Full album track by track review of ‘Heartbound’
Dream On Dreamer have been rising to the top pretty fast with their first 2 EPs ‘Set Sail Armada’, released in June 2009 and ‘Hope’ EP released in June last year. Their live performances have also convinced a large number of post hardcore fans to support this 5 piece band hailing all the way from Australia. They have played in shows alongside Emmure, Attack Attack!, Pierce The Veil, The Amity Affliction, Shinto Katana, Closure In Moscow and many more already established bands. Now signed to Australian label WeAreUnified and American record label Rise Records, we will definitely be hearing more from Dream On, Dreamer.
With their ‘Hope’ EP, we were all given a taste of what kind of music direction Dream On Dreamer were moving towards. With almost similar sounds to The Devil Wears Prada and Confide, what sets Dream On Dreamer apart is the minimal use of synth to just enhance various songs, not overwhelming their tracks altogether and more clean vocals can be heard from them.
The band recently released their debut album ‘Heartbound’ which is similar to their ‘Hope’ EP but with much more progression and a heavier sound.
The album starts off with an intro track ‘I’ that beautifully transitions into the first song ‘Yourself As Someone Else’ which instantly features Marcel Gadacz’s extremely exceptional screams and growls. Now it’s very hard to dictate and pick on a certain scream or growl but Marcel Gadacz’s screams are one of those that sound full and compact. Definitely pleasant to the ears be it his outstanding highs or his powerful lows. Somewhere in the middle of the song, it transitions into Michael McLeod’s clean vocals which must be praised in this whole album. His vocals definitely fit exceptionally well with Gadacz’s screams. It’s like hearing something so intense and then having McLeod’s cleans to soothe things out. The end of this track is a beautiful ring of voices from the whole band paired with Gadacz’s screams that allows a sing-along combo. I figure this would work out really well with the crowd during live performances.
The second track ‘Downfall’ starts off with amazing brutality but nothing particularly stands out in this song apart from the really powerful and intense breakdown which comes in after the second verse, something we don’t often expect from every band. Like how many bands actually let their breakdowns come in after the second verse?
The next track, ‘A Path of It’s Own’ to me is probably one of those tracks that lacks the ability to remain in memory. It’s one of those generic songs in an album though it includes a nice chorus where McLeod’s cleans are layered over Gadacz’s screams.
‘For What You Believe In’ is one of the more melodic songs from this album. You can really let yourself sink in with this song and let Michael McLeod’s vocals captivate your mind. The guitar works simply create a melodic harmony to accompany the incredible screams and cleans that gel together perfectly. All I can say is this song is filled with the most harmonious vocals and play of instruments and yet produce an amazing amount of intensity.
From a really melodious track to an incredibly intense start in ‘Taking Chances, Breaking Free’. This song feels like it has no end to it. You feel like the screams just goes on all the way for about 2 minutes of the song with only short pauses that allows some synth play for a harmony. Then it comes to a 28 seconds slow motion feel of guitar melodies and double bass drums paired with that same harmonic synth played through various sections of the song. The song then ends with more screams from Gadacz without a hint of clean vocals. Probably one of the more unique tracks on this album with Gadacz taking lead throughout the whole song.
In the next track ‘Blinded’, we can hear Gadacz’s screams and growls gets more intense which is sometimes chorused by McLeod’s cleans. Instrumentally generic in certain areas and yet following the level of emotion of Gadacz’s screams and McLeod’s cleans. Definitely a song worth repeating.
‘To The Lost’ begins with an immensely powerful vocal from Gadacz. So it seems that as the songs go along in this album, the vocal intensity just gets more and more powerful with heavier music to accompany it. The song also includes a heavy and brutal breakdown but it transitions to softer vocals from McLeod with a tender end to the song.
The second last track, ‘Come Home True Love’ in my opinion is definitely the most outstanding track from this album. You just need to pay attention to the guitar riffs as it gets heavier and heavier. Need us to say more about Gadacz’s screams? Just amazing. One more unique thing about the song is having McLeod start on the chorus but instead of ending it there, he continues on to sing the second verse which brings the song to a slower pace and then it builds up to have Gadacz’s screams crashing in. This is definitely one song that I would recommend because of the different aspects to it that makes it a full and perfect song.
The final track to finish off the whole album is ‘Lifestream’ which is a slower melodious song with McLeod taking the lead in vocals for this one. You just cannot get enough of how amazing Gadacz’s screams and McLeod’s cleans goes so well together. A perfect way to end an album indeed.
To sum things up, ‘Heartbound’ is a definite progression from the band and it lets listeners know just what Dream On, Dreamer are capable of. The album starts off with a steady level of emotion and then the intensity builds up as you go along through the album and finally bringing you to a slow and peaceful end.
Dream On Dreamer stuck through with the sound they’ve established for themselves in their ‘Hope’ EP but with much more higher clean vocals and more intensity that builds up to brutal breakdowns. This album is definitely a perfect 4.5/5 for me as it not only shows the band’s progression from the first song they ever released but also their abilities to produce a full length album that has a variety. Alot of metalcore/post hardcore bands out there forget the creative aspects and originality of their music because they choose to focus much more on their technicalitites and worry too much about pleasing their listeners.
Checkout the full album teaser we’ve recently shared with you!
Be sure to get a copy of ‘Heartbound’ if you haven’t! Get it at http://www.facebook.com/dreamondreamerband?sk=app_101820689915796
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dreamondreamerband
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/dreamondreamer1
Tumblr: http://dreamondreamerband.com/
- posted by Irni
P.S: This is just a one person’s opinion on the album. Let us know what you think. Do you think ‘Heartbound’ is as good an album as I think it is?
Album Review: Stereogum pays tribute to The Strokes’ Is This It.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Stereogum puts together 11 different artists to cover the songs from ‘Is This It’. Some of the bands covering the songs includes Real Estate, Wise Blood, Peter Bjorn & John, Owen Pallett and The Morning Benders.
Now, I like The Strokes, and I really really liked Is This It, so I was pretty stoked when Stereogum announced they were going to release a tribute album (and I’m sure the rest of MME was too).
There were a couple of songs I liked - Last Nite by The Morning Benders and Owen Pallett’s Hard to Explain, but there were songs which were, as much as I hate to admit, quite awful. New York City Cops was difficult to listen to. It didnt sound like a Strokes song at all. I know covers of songs aren’t really supposed to sound like the original, but I didnt even recognize the lyrics when I first heard it. Same for The Modern Age. And dont even get me started on Someday.
I should stop before I start rambling on and on about how this album made me want to gag. Would be great if you read this article though. From NME: “Why Are There So Few Good Strokes Cover Versions”.
You can download Stroked here.
- posted by Widad
