Customer Reviews

End of Silence

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4 star:		(4)
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The German progressive metal band Dreamscape has been around since 1986, however due to their music being "progressive" they had a hard time finding a decent label and get their artistic messages across. They've released a total of three albums, all with a different singer, but their new one End of Silence is the only one I own. I know their second disc Very has Hubi Meisel on vocals so I will definitely check it out since Hubi's solo material is very solid stuff.

End of Silence is said to be their best release to date with new singer Roland Stoll (also in Private Secret) who reminds me a bit of earlier James Labrie with more aggression and Andy Kuntz from Vanden Plas. The album is very heavy with plenty of aggression, groove, melody and power. All three aspects of "melodic prog metal" are served here. This is prog with all the relevant time signatures, tempo changes and long interludes; metal with its relentless heaviness and melodic with the uncompromising emphasis on melody. Roland Stoll never neglects to deliver the tunes with melody, even when he's hitting the highest notes. Keyboard player Jan Vacik, who also produced this amazing disc, has a great chemistry with the rhythmic bass lines and guitar riffs. The piano and his synth orchestration is stunning! What's even better is they're never used to overpower always leaving enough room for the guitar and bass work. Wolfgang Kerinnis is an exceptional guitarist and he is perfectly backed up by bassist Benno Schmidtler and drummer Bernhard Huber whose tone is really awesome! In this respect the band is a little reminiscent of Vanden Plas, Sun Caged and Threshold although references to Dream Theater's Images & Words era are still evident. The 21-minute epic track "The End of Light" is without question the greatest moment on this disc. This song serves all the purposes of the band's musical vision to the best.

Production-wise I am reminded of Pagan's Mind, but moreso sonically than musically. Pagan's Mind is definitely on the more power/prog side of the equation while Dreamscape plays a more complex, detailed, sharper kind of prog metal with immense emphasis on melody. Still the sonic similarity is there, though I definitely prefer Dreamscape, as much I may be in the minority here.

One of the funniest things I experienced listening to this CD the first time was on the eighth track "Infected Ground" when the song kicked in with an excerpt from a traditional Turkish song titled "Donulmez Aksamin Ufkundayim" and I wonder where they got that inspiration from but that was totally unexpected and interesting. "All I Need" is the only ballad on this 72-minute record and although it isn't the strongest song on the album it gives the listener his time to catch his breath. I am highly impressed by "Silent Maze" as well as "You Don't Know Me" which are both great songs displaying the emotional and lyrical depth of Dreamscape.

This band is playing ProgPower USA soon along with many other talented bands. I think more people will discover them shortly, cause they are too good to go unnoticed any longer.

It seems when talking about Progressive Metal bands it seems impossible to avoid mentioning the Progressive Metal Gods, Dream Theater. It almost seems heretical to discuss this genre and ignore these giants, sort of like talking about baseball and ignoring the Yankees.

In the case of German Prog Metal prodigies, Dreamscape, I'm not only going to mention Dream Theater, I'm going to compare the two. Taking a name like Dreamscape, one might assume that was their intention, like they were saying to the world, look at us, yeah Dream Theater is good but so are we!

I will admit one thing, Dreamscape is not exactly prolific. End of Silence is well named for this is their first recording in five years and is only their third overall. Their first recording Trance-like State(which I haven't heard) was released in 1997 and raised many eyebrows. The followup in 1999, simply titled Very, was no sophomore flop and had many progheads clamoring for more but unfortunately Dreamscape did a Rip Van Winkle (some would say Boston) routine and went into hibernation. Well folks, the wait was worth it. Wolfgang Kerrinis and Jan Vacik have holed themselves up in Dreamscape Studios in Germany and created a literal masterpiece, I kid you not.

Dreamscape now has a new singer (surprise - three albums three singers) in Roland Stoll but not a new sound. Oh yes, they've evolved, are more polished and maybe a little tighter but side by side there isn't that much difference between Very and End of Silence style wise. Even though all the songs (except "All I Need") are long to very long, they have inherent melodies that are enhanced by Roland Stoll's powerful vocals. The rhythm section often use complicated time signatures, but they never use it as a primary element, but rather as a way to bring the melodies out even more. The production, co-ordinated by keyboarded Jan Vacik, puts emphasis on the synth work, but leaves enough room for the guitars to break through.

This album would probably appeal to true progheads more than pop/rock/alternative/metal aficionados but for anyone that is looking for something a little more complex than your average tinny sounding Garage Band, Dreamscape may be your your vehicle to true enlightenment.

As I mentioned Dreamscape sound eerily like Dream Theater. Other similar bands would include Vanden Plas, DGM, Symphony X, Adagio, Threshold, Superior, Redemption, Frameshift and Mastermind.

Looking back on all these great Progressive Metal bands, I can't help but wonder, that if there never was any Dream Theater, would Dreamscape then be the Prog Metal standard to which all these other bands are compared?

I listened to End of Silence in preparation for the 2004 Prog Power Show in Atlanta. I am a big fan of Dream Theater and I was amazed by Dreamscape's EOS cd. They have a polished sound similar to Dream Theater. Their music is highly technical, expertly arranged, and flawlessly performed - not what you expect from a new band. I highly recommend this album. Prog Power 2004 had 10 bands over 2 nights and Dreamscape stole the show. Unfortunately, US radio only plays lame rap or punk garage music, so you will have to spend $$ to hear this great German band!

The German progressive metal band Dreamscape has been around since 1986, however due to their music being "progressive" they had a hard time finding a decent label and get their artistic messages across. They've released a total of three albums, all with a different singer, but their new one End of Silence is the only one I own. I know their second disc Very has Hubi Meisel on vocals so I will definitely check it out since Hubi's solo material is very solid stuff.

End of Silence is said to be their best release to date with new singer Roland Stoll (also in Private Secret) who reminds me a bit of earlier James Labrie with more aggression and Andy Kuntz from Vanden Plas. The album is very heavy with plenty of aggression, groove, melody and power. All three aspects of "melodic prog metal" are served here. This is prog with all the relevant time signatures, tempo changes and long interludes; metal with its relentless heaviness and melodic with the uncompromising emphasis on melody. Roland Stoll never neglects to deliver the tunes with melody, even when he's hitting the highest notes. Keyboard player Jan Vacik, who also produced this amazing disc, has a great chemistry with the rhythmic bass lines and guitar riffs. The piano and his synth orchestration is stunning! What's even better is they're never used to overpower always leaving enough room for the guitar and bass work. Wolfgang Kerinnis is an exceptional guitarist and he is perfectly backed up by bassist Benno Schmidtler and drummer Bernhard Huber whose tone is really awesome! In this respect the band is a little reminiscent of Vanden Plas, Sun Caged and Threshold although references to Dream Theater's Images & Words era are still evident. The 21-minute epic track "The End of Light" is without question the greatest moment on this disc. This song serves all the purposes of the band's musical vision to the best.

Production-wise I am reminded of Pagan's Mind, but moreso sonically than musically. Pagan's Mind is definitely on the more power/prog side of the equation while Dreamscape plays a more complex, detailed, sharper kind of prog metal with immense emphasis on melody. Still the sonic similarity is there, though I definitely prefer Dreamscape, as much I may be in the minority here.

One of the funniest things I experienced listening to this CD the first time was on the eighth track "Infected Ground" when the song kicked in with an excerpt from a traditional Turkish song titled "Donulmez Aksamin Ufkundayim" and I wonder where they got that inspiration from but that was totally unexpected and interesting. "All I Need" is the only ballad on this 72-minute record and although it isn't the strongest song on the album it gives the listener his time to catch his breath. I am highly impressed by "Silent Maze" as well as "You Don't Know Me" which are both great songs displaying the emotional and lyrical depth of Dreamscape.

This band is playing ProgPower USA soon along with many other talented bands. I think more people will discover them shortly, cause they are too good to go unnoticed any longer.

CHECK OUT VANDEN PLAS AS WELL

This is a phenominal album. The Dreamscape members obviously have incredible playing abilities, and you can hear this in beautiful solo sections. However, they do not allow the soloing to get in the way of the songs like some prog bands do, and instead have acheived the perfect balance between hard-core prog virtuosity and melodic metal symphonic sound. They sound quite a bit like Dream Theater, and are often compared to them, but do have their own unique sound, in that they are more epic and melodic in their songwriting than DT, and also do not allow songs to get completely out of hand with bizarre time signatures and lengthy solo sections. In addition to this, Dreamscape's vocalist is superior in fact to DT's James Labrie, and although I am a dedicated Dream Theater fan, I am finding that I enjoy Dreamscape even more than DT now. You cannot go wrong with this album.

If you've been playing "Train of Thought" and the rest of your Theater discs a bit too much lately, check out an equally impressive band from Munich, Germany: Dreamscape. I bought their second release "Very" in '99 and was blown away. The newest release "End of Silence" is just as good. The guitarist was a former instructor at the Muenchner Gitarreninstitut (think GIT, but in Germany), and he and the rest of the band rip...very reminiscent of Dream Theater. Check them out at dreamscape.de!

I'll keep this short and to the point.
Dreamscape is a progressive metal band from Germany and this is their third release.
If you're a fan of Dream Theater,Queensryche,etc you'll love this cd!.
It has all the ingredients that gave those bands what fans and musicians alike love to hear.
What more do you need to know?

i would have to agree. if you enjoy Dream Theater, Vanden Plas, Queensryche, etc., you will love this album. especially if you like Vanden Plas like i do. its progressive music at its best and its a good all around cd. my favorite song is the 20 minute epic "The End of Light". it reminds me alot of Dream Theater's "Chnge of Seasons". those kind of songs are great cause they never end. if prog metal is your cup of tea then i would recommend this cd and Vanden Plas's "The God Thing".

peace out

What can I say that hasnt already been said. I love this band they have some awesome riffs, great melodies, excellent singer, musicians, and the production is simply awesome!. Germany has thier own Dream Theater and that's this band right here, yes there are some songs that might sound similar to Dream theater, but they also have their own distinct riffs, and heaviness. Again if you enjoy good hooks and synth passages your gonna love this band. Similar acts if you enjoy this are the following bands:

Vanden Plas

Darkwater

Circus Maximus

Threshold

Andromeda

All excellent bands in this genre!

I hate to compare bands to others, but if you were told this was new Dream Theater, you'd probably believe it. They are every bit as talented. You must buy this cd.