Between 2001 and 2008 DREAMTIDE released three high-class albums, the first two discs (“Here Comes The Flood” from 2001 and the 2003 work “Dreams For The Daring”) definitely have classic status.
After a break of more than 14 years, “Drama Dust Dream” with a changed lineup (newcomers are Lars Lehmann on bass and Horst Guntram Schlag on – yes, of course! – drums) comes onto the market almost out of nowhere. In the following, we want to find out whether the boys can pick up on the old days:
The trademark of the band has always been Helge Engelke’s guitar sound. You either love him or reject him. In any case, a unique selling point of the band. Most of the time the sound isn’t very distorted – so if you’re expecting crunchy riffs, you won’t necessarily be satisfied.
The disc starts off well with “Stop Being Deep”, a fast smasher, highly melodic and equipped with an excellent chorus. After a few listens, it immediately nestles in the listeners.
“Spin” is located in the mid-tempo area and features polyphonic backing vocals. “Around” hits the same note, a touch more anthemic and with slightly balladesque undertones.
After the Spanish acoustic interlude “Ni Dos Ni Agua”, “All Of Us” rocks faster once more. In terms of sound, one would have to wait for the end product, as so often, I only have the mp3 download and it sounds a bit dull and not very differentiated. The song lacks a real chorus, the weakest song so far.
“Merciless Sun” makes up some ground once more, the chorus is absolutely convincing here. A nice sing-along anthem. The short acoustic ballad “Dawn” gives you some time to breathe, a bit too laid back for my taste, but quite suitable as a lighter live song (alternatively for a mobile phone display).
“One Rule” is solid AOR, nice but unspectacular. It gets more bombastic with “Drop The Curtain”, here you can even hear a bit more aggressive riffs, the number is slightly prog and not immediately catchy. A piece that has to be worked on.
After another guitar interlude, this time with a classical touch, the final round is heralded.
“For The Fairies” is a bombast ballad with a touch of bluesy, towards the end there is once more a typical Engelke solo at the end.
“Leisure Saints” is another speed number as a bouncer, which ends a good-class album, which is not completely convincing, but contains a few unspectacular numbers too many. “Drama Dust Dream” certainly doesn’t come close to the legendary first two albums, but it’s still an album that’s fun and will probably have a long-term effect.
