Dreamwalkers Inc – The First Tragedy Of Klahera
Dreamwalkers Inc – The First Tragedy Of Klahera
Layered Reality Productions
Release Date: 24/11/23
Running Time: 01:16:10
Review by Oli Gonzalez
7.5/10
Drawing from all corners of the Netherlands, we have Progressive Power Metallers Dreamwalkers Inc. The band have been together in some capacity for a long time, under different names, styles, and various line ups. One constant remains those; the creative direction of frontman Tom De Wit. Now, Dreamwalkers Inc are on the eve of their latest album, “The First Tragedy Of Klahera”.
I’ve always loved concept albums, as I admire the creativity and commitment of the band members to bring something like this to life. Every song is as important as the last, and is anything but a random collection of songs thrown together. Here, the album tells the story of an orphaned child Klahera who is found and raised by a loving community in the town of Oldstead. She sadly realises she’s very different though and this ends in conflict with those in the village. I was excited to see how this would unfold in the music, and how this story would be told. After all, one of my very favourite albums of all time is “Legend Of The Bone Carver” by Pyramaze, largely due to the wonderful story telling, also in a Power Metal style. How will Dreamwalkers Inc compare and what could I expect from their sound?
Firstly, this album is a long one at over eighty-fiveminutes (a point I’ll expand upon later). As such, it may become tedious for me to give a song by song account, so instead I’m opting to describe the album as a whole and some highlights for me.
Perhaps the most distinct feature of the album is the dual vocal approach, with Tom and Radina holding down the fort. Tom has a lower, more raspier tone with some occasional growls, and can also mix it up with some rather pleasing theoretic style vocals. Radina takes the higher register, with a more operatic sound. Both compliment each other nicely and ensure things are always fresh.
The same could be said for the band’s two guitarists, Lennert and Norbert. ‘It Lives’ is one of the heavier songs on the album, with good old fashioned chugging guitar riffs, featuring plenty of distortion and palm muting. ‘Child Of The Bloodmoon’ takes on a more ambient approach with the strings, which indeed is a fun contrast and important in setting a tone for the story telling. ‘Despicable’ goes a bit wild though. In a good way of course! The song opens with some blazing lead guitar riffs, which creep their way back into the song later. This contrasts with some of the jazz infused melodies and rhythms that infected my ear drums throughout. I had to resist the urge to dance along! This kind of contrast shouldn’t work but it does!
‘Celebrations’ is one of the highlights and most salient songs for me. I was getting a more traditional folk/shanty style vibe here, especially with the fiddles and gang style vocals. It didn’t last that long but was fun whilst it did.
It took me a few listens to grasp, but I did appreciate the cinematic aspect, especially with the voiceovers detailing the narrative and the portrayal of Klahera’s character and the associated development.
Overall, I have to admire the experimental and progressive nature of this album. I was wondering if I’d hear something closer to Symphonic Metal, where synths and orchestral elements are key whilst the tempo is rapid. However, “The First Tragedy Of Klahera” takes on a more progressive approach to composition. It’s almost as if all the traditional rules of songwriting have been completely ignored, and we have a melting pot of random ideas thrown together that shouldn’t work, but totally do! There’s a lot to get your teeth into here, that’s for sure. If I could give a creativity rating, it would be the easiest 10/10 ever.
As I mentioned earlier, this album is long. Very long. Too long perhaps? Given that there’s a concept album here, I can understand why there’s a need to give enough space for that whole narrative to transpire. However, there’s so many bands able to produce high quality music and free streaming services making this ready available. It’s a big ask for the casual listener to make a commitment of 80+ minutes for one album. Hence why I think it would have been smarter to release this in 2 or maybe even 3 sections. Just to make it easier to consume and to make the listener want more, rather than having felt like they’ve been through a marathon and becoming burned out.
Still, there’s some isolated moments of musical excellence within the album. You just need to know where to look, and be willing to.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Justice, My Tragedy
02. Child Of The Bloodmoon
03. Oldstead
04. Broken Puzzle Piece
05. It Lives
06. Despiscable
07. Knowledge From Afar
08. Celebrations
09. Mother Dearest
10. Pushed
11. Heroes and Charlatans
12. Discovery
13. Chain Of Consequences
LINE-UP:
Tom – Vocals, Synths, Percussion
Radina – Vocals
Lennert – Guitars
Norbert – Guitars
Bjorn – Bass
Sander – Drums
LINKS:
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