Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Searing, epic melodic metal!!!, June 25, 2003
With "Dragonslayer", Swedish metal band Dream Evil shows headbangers around the world that the Swedes are the best at melodic metal. With a sound that will be loved by fans of groups like "Hammerfall", "Gamma Ray", and perhaps "Iron Maiden" and "Dio". Like Hammerfall, Dream Evil combine killer melodic guitar riffs and hooks with soaring vocals and fantasy lyrics. But in some ways, Dream Evil surpasses even Hammerfall in its execution of this style. The opening track, "Dragonslayer" is to date one of the most searing, melodic, and exciting metal tracks of all time. Other favorites include the touching, yet powerfully heavy ballad "Losing You" and the epic "The Chosen Ones", both of which utilize, to wonderful effect, the string section of an orchestra... the latter going even further with its deep and powerful male backing vocals... almost opera-like. The songs vary from fast, pounding tracks like "Burn in Flames" to midtempo rockers, like "Heavy Metal in the Night". There's something for every metal fanatic on this CD. Finally, I know that the members of Dream Evil are disappointed with the view that the U.S. press takes with bands that put out this type of material. Some ignorant, misguided souls might think this type of music is "old" or "cheesy". All I can say is that metal is coming back hard... so either join us or burn in flames!!!
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Melodic Heavy Metal, July 15, 2002
This cd is i a must have, i went out an bought it on impulse cause i had the money only hearing one song on the cd "Prophecy" which is one of best songs on the cd, but i hate to compare them, cause to me all the songs were great with the exception of the one ballad #7 "Losing you", i was rock'en along to the cd when all of the sudden this came on i listened to it all the way thru the first time but have past over it every other time, why does nearly every band have to throw that one slow song in, it's so so but disrupts the entire flow of the cd which until u get to that song is in your face and afterwards it still very heavy. I would recommend this Cd to anyone that is into bands like iced earth, arch enemy, primal fear, an so forth. Even with that one slow songe this cd still packs one [heck of a] a punch and is still deserving of 5 stars. I tried letting some friends listen to it but unfortunatly they have been buried in a deluge of american corporate hip hop,rock/rap [stuff] for to long an i fear my friends taste in great music is no more and that the more corporate garbage from mtv they listen to the more brain cells they will lose only to leave me with cabbages for friends it's ashame, It's there loss this CD is awesome i havn't stopped listening to it since i bought it a week ago, listen to it, love it, and play it loud.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not too innovative, but still good., December 1, 2003
I picked this up after hearing a few clips from a record store. I was in the mood for something that had the guitar thickness of Symphony X yet not so orchestrial as them. From the clips I heard this definitely met that necessity. Well, after first listening to it I thought to myself, "it's ok, not great." After a second listen I grew into it a little bit more, now I'm somewhat glad I bought it, though there are a lot better records out there.
Fredrick Nordstrom (producer of great bands like In Flames, Opeth, etc) leads the guitars in this band and brings us an old school sounding power metal record w/ modern production straight out of Sweden. The 11 tracks are mostly fast paced metal songs with 100 beat per second solo's and melodic soaring vocals. Drums are good I guess and so is the bass, everything is audible so I can't make a complaint there. There are a couple of songs on this that slow down the tempo and incorporate some violin and choir work, but those aren't overdone into something epic and mostly kept grounded, which didn't hurt it (hence my mood mentioned before).The songs are also very upbeat and uplifting, so if you're in the mood for something that is fun and not so deep and thought-provoking, this is good to have. Now, even though I did enjoy this record, I wouldn't say all fans of Symphony X or Stratiovarus should automatically go buy this. It has a mostly old school sound and some songs tend to come off more as 80's hair metal then Iron Maiden type power metal, which dissappointed me a little(most especially "Heavy Metal in the Night" and "Heavy Metal Jesus"; songs that are so corny you can't help but play them and air guitar while shoulder jerking with your tounge sticking out) So if you're into that type of stuff, you'll love this.
One other thing people might get annoyed with is the song's lengths. They all fall around the 3-4 minute mark (well, most songs follow the same system: verse/chorus/verse/chorus/blazing solo/chorus/ending), so the typical verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure is all here, which takes away some of the potential progressiveness of it all. The lyrics aren't anything to scream about either. Mostly talk of slaying dragons and winning battles (over and over) w/ cheesy titles ("Heavy Metal In the Night","Heavy Metal Jesus").
Yet, there are still songs on here that absolutely rule, most notably track 3 "Save Us" which is probably the best off the album. The singer's also got a good voice with good range but still can't compete with Russell Allen of Symphony X.
I know this review made this album sound more bad then good, but it really wasn't. The album just isn't very innovative- you'll be telling yourself you've heard this before. About 60% of songs off this were good, and I do enjoy playing it, but just keep in mind that your money might be better spent somewhere else, and you can buy this one later (but do buy it, it IS worth owning). If I had to rate this out of 10, I'd give it a 6.5.
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by Dream Evil 
