Date Released: 04/03/2016
Label: Rise Above Records
If you are into
thrash and death bands in general and are looking for a band to bridge the gap
between Slayer and Celtic Frost and today's crop of doomy, mid-paced bands,
Dream Death would be an ideal starting point.
“Dissemination” strikes
the perfect balance between fast extreme metal and crushing doom, without
overdoing either style to the point of boredom. The album is not overly long
but long enough to satisfy without becoming tiresome. Great production and
mastering round off the package and make this album a must have for fans of
thrashy sludge doom.
“Dissemination” CD//LP Track listing:
1. Dissemination
2. Expendable Blood Flow
3. Crawling
4. The Cold Hard Light
5. All In Vain
6. Dominion
7. The Other Side
8. Nothing Ever Will
9 Neutral Ground
10. In Perpetuum
The Review:
Pittsburgh,
PA based sludge doomsters Dream Death are made up of members of the
legendary '90's doom band Penance. This latest album sees the band
signing to Rise
Above Records and also marks the return of the classic “The Road Less Travelled” Penance
line up.
Despite
being Penance
in all but name, “Dissemination” is definitely a Dream Death
record. It has a much more sludgy, almost hardcore feel to it than the band's Penance
material. The best way to describe their sound is a stripped-down version of Slayer
with much less lead guitar. The band prefers to rely on brutal riffs and the
odd, subtle lead line rather than shredding solos, which suits the music
perfectly. Frontman Brian Lawrence's vocals sound like Tom Araya, almost more
than Slayer
do these days in places, especially the few spoken word parts, which work well
and accentuate the album's sinister lyrical themes of societal collapse and
madness.
“Dissemination” is the band's third
full-length album and sounds a lot tighter than their previous efforts. Drummer
Mike Smail is on top form. He alternates between slow doom and double-time
blasts without overdoing the fills, always leaving room for the guitars and
vocals. His double-pedalling style gives the band a metallic sound and keeps
things interesting even though the tracks are quite similar in tone.
The
songs are more concise and less experimental on this album than their previous
effort (2013's “Somnium Excessum”). One theme that
has remained is the dark lyrics, dealing with the inner thoughts of a serial
killer at large ('The Cold Hard Light')
as well as exploring literary influences .According to the band's statement on
the Rise
Above Records website, 'Nothing
Ever Will' is based on Russian novelist and naval engineer Yegeny
Zamyatin’s dystopian 1924 novel, “We”.
The theme of existential dread, paranoia and anxiety are covered too, something
of a constant for this band, and something else they have in common with
Slayer.
While
I would call this a sludge doom album, there are some thrashy moments, such as
sixth track 'Dominion' which is pure
Slayer
from start to finish, from the riffs to the stop-start Dave Lombardo-esque drums.
If
you are into thrash and death bands in general and are looking for a band to
bridge the gap between Slayer and Celtic Frost and today's crop of
doomy, mid-paced bands, Dream Death would be an ideal starting point.
“Dissemination” strikes the perfect
balance between fast extreme metal and crushing doom, without overdoing either
style to the point of boredom. The album is not overly long but long enough to
satisfy without becoming tiresome. Great production and mastering round off the
package and make this album a must have for fans of thrashy sludge doom.
“Dissemination” is available here
Band info: facebook
