"Within One" is the debut full-length from LA's Dreaming Dead (on Ibex Moon Records), and since I'm terrible at keeping up with things, I didn't realize until reading about this album at Invisible Oranges a little while ago that Dreaming Dead is actually the band formerly known as Manslaughter—whose debut EP, "Through the Eyes of Insanity", I reviewed here a few years ago. I was quite impressed by that material (all four songs from which appear here in re-recorded form), and as I would've anticipated this album continues in a similar yet increasingly diverse vein of intricate (but not overly so), death-tinged thrash metal offering up a solid balance of tempos and atmospheres (occasionally even flirting with some lightly blackened flare). For my money the focus here is absolutely on stellar guitar work that's full of taut rhythmic interplay and sleek melodic leads that weave seamlessly through classically meaty thrash, Scandinavian-inspired dual guitar harmonies, and more contemporary discordance that makes for a great fusion of melody, aggression, and overall power. There are also a handful of unexpected clean passages that tend to explore slightly atypical atmospheres for this general realm of metal, which is a cool little touch. Additionally, the recording benefits the material in that you can actually hear the bass runs mingling with the guitars, and despite all of the layered instrumentation and sneering, snarling, growling vocals you can still make out everything that's going on in the mix. I'm not saying it's particularly inventive or what have you, but the solid writing and musicianship crank out a number of very impressive riffs and solos throughout, making for a strong listen that continues to show a great deal of potential for what this band has to offer. Nicely done...
Dreaming Dead "Stairs Into the Vortex"
At the time of this writing the CD is on sale for a mere $6 from the label, which is basically an unbeatable deal, so... make the grab if you like what you hear!
Comments
Maybe if they get their shit together.
4.13.2009 | By Tim