Dreamgrave - Presentiment (2014)
With three or so years of work put into the songs on Dreamgrave's debut album (there's a demo out there as well, though you'll need to do some thorough searching of the internet to find it), the Hungarian group has clearly not gone easy on themselves in hammering out a respectable start. Hitting close to an hour of atmosphere-drenched, haunting, and intricate compositions, the Hungarian group weaves together elements of doom, prog, death, and a few other modes of metal for a fusion style you'd be very hard-pressed to find elsewhere. One of the most striking features is Dreamgrave's use of dual vocalists, clashing a rough masculine growl against the striking soprano in a way that meshes with the interplay of the drums and keyboard. The flightier stretches of prog indulgence are grounded by the hard'n'heavy crunch of the death metal & heavy rock thunder-riffs, with moments of serenity appearing as welcome respites before the velocity returns.
It's an album with impressive attention to detail across the board, from the song-writing to the final mix-down, and while listeners not looking for anything symphonic in their metal will likely be put off by the semi-operatic sense of drama cultivated by the group, I'm of the opinion that Dreamgrave earns and employs that theatricality very well. It works best when the album is played all in one run, as these things usually go, but the balance and development of each song is full enough to let them easily stand on their own. A retroactive Top 10 entrant for 2014, with CDs of the 100-copy run still available through the group's BandCamp page as of this review's writing.
~ Gabriel
It's an album with impressive attention to detail across the board, from the song-writing to the final mix-down, and while listeners not looking for anything symphonic in their metal will likely be put off by the semi-operatic sense of drama cultivated by the group, I'm of the opinion that Dreamgrave earns and employs that theatricality very well. It works best when the album is played all in one run, as these things usually go, but the balance and development of each song is full enough to let them easily stand on their own. A retroactive Top 10 entrant for 2014, with CDs of the 100-copy run still available through the group's BandCamp page as of this review's writing.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Earth Drive, Opeth, Persona, Naught, 3rd Ear Experience
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