Independent Release
Review by Luisa Mercier
Elizabeth Schall and Dreaming Dead come from Los Angeles and “Midnightmares” is the second studio full-length that this prog-death metal band has released. Elizabeth, lead guitar player and harsh vocals, together with Michael Chaffel and Juan Ramirez have created a record that is very enjoyable despite the great quantity of passages that you may find in the songs, as in “Overlord” with its prog-jazzish break at half of the track. There are no useless tecnique displays, on the other hand the songs are built in a very logic way following progressive style of writing: changing structures and different tempos (as found in “In Memoriam”). Starting from a death metal foundation, Dreaming Dead also draw from thrash metal (“Exile”) and doom metal (the intro “Wake”). Schall has a good screaming and growling, but it stands out her talent in guitar playing, one of the most interesting guitar players on metal scene maybe. “Midnightmares” is a collection of ideas through which Dreaming Dead try to keep the songs attached to a certain style that involves moments of aggression, violence and calm. This is the most prominent quality of their music and the one I am most appreciative of. I also like the fact the songs are kept short even though when progressive is involved, there is always space for three or four minutes of instrumental breaks. Once again, nothing new, but the record is well written, well played and it is very interesting to listen to.
Rating – 70/100
Tracklist
- Wake
- Overlord
- Midinightmares
- Exile
- In Memoriam
- Lapse
- Into The Death
- Corpse Mountain
- Departure
Line Up
- Elizabeth Schall – Vocals & Guitars
- Juan Ramirez – Bass
- Michael Caffell – Drums