Dream Evil – Metal Gods – CD Review

22nd July 2024 0 By Kevin McCallum

I always enjoyed picking up on the Scandinavian rock/metal scene, way back to the emergence and sustained performance of the likes of ‘Europe’, through to the emerging bands such as ‘Junkyard Drive’.

So here we have ‘Dream Evil’. Taking their name from the ‘Dio’ album of the same name gives you a flavor of what you are going to get and had from them in the past. We’ve waited 7 years since their last album release ‘Six’ in 2017, so what about the new album ‘Metal Gods’?

Well, first up features on Vocals: Niklas Isfeldt, Drums: Sir N, Bass: Peter Stålfors, Guitars Mark U Black and Fredrik Nordstrom.

It’s a 10-track release on Century Media Records that kicks off with the title track ‘Metal Gods’. This essentially directs a head nod to the bands and albums that shaped many of our musical interests and life choices in the early 1980s (including mine). From ‘Maiden’, ‘Priest’, ‘Saxon’, and ‘Manowar’, the clothes, the style, the attitude, and the lifestyle got us on the right road.

Next up is ‘Chosen Force’, love the pace on this one, showcases Niklas’s expansive vocal range and great dueling guitar work between Mark and Fredrick. Great power metal track, would suit the live arena I hope as well.

‘The Tyrant Dies at Dawn’, paints a storied picture of the medieval battles of good versus bad, across the lands and seas, fighting to survive and take control.

‘Lightning Strikes’ and ‘Fight in the Night’ deliver pure metal attitude over a combined 9 minutes. There’s anger in the sound and speed of the tracks but executed with superb musicianship.

Next up is ‘Masters of Arms’ it’s one of my favorite tracks on the album. Again, objectively about a battle to survive and musically blends Niklas’s vocals with some well-placed backing vocals. Its slow guitar build-up lures you in then bang! big power chords shake you about a bit.

‘Born in Hell’ could be taken right out of the top drawer of metal track recipes, fast-paced and complex drums from Sir N, both guitar players giving it full-on power. You need to sit down and re-energize after listening to this one.

‘Insane’ and ‘Night Stalker’ bring us close to the end and continue the quality power metal feed we’ve been given through the previous 7 tracks.

Then there we have it the final track ‘Y.A.N.A.’, takes you down a different style for these guys. Shoe horns a power rock ballad in between power metal interludes. If you listened to this track ahead of the rest, you wouldn’t get the true first impression of what they do, but for me, it shows their musical versatility.

This is a good album, favourite picks are ‘Chosen Force’, ‘Masters of Arms’, ‘Born in Hell’ and ‘Y.A.N.A.’.

Score 7.5/10
Track List
1. Metal Gods (03:30)
2. Chosen Force (05:07)
3. The Tyrant Dies At Dawn (03:54)
4. Lightning Strikes (04:22)
5. Fight In The Night (03:47)
6. Masters Of Arms (03:34)
7. Born In Hell (03:51)
8. Insane (04:28)
9. Night Stalker (04:37)
10. Y.A.N.A. (04:09)
Label: Century Media Records