Meta-Metal
For those who aren't aware, Dream Evil is the band of Mr. Fredrik Nordstrom, Swedish metal producer and one of the main guys behind the famed "Gothenburg sound" of metal. This is a guy that knows his metal, and Dream Evil is some of the finest new metal out there. If you don't read the rest of this review, use the time you saved to buy this album!
In the Night is the band's fifth release, in which they ply their craft of affectionately parodying power metal. DE is fully aware of how formulaic, cheesy, and self-promoting the genre can be, and they aren't afraid to poke some fun at it. This manifests through just-a-little-over-the-top lyrics like "I am immortal/I rule the slaughter" on the first track, "We will unite/Hail metal!/We will fight!/[BOOMING GUITAR RIFFAGE]" on the title track, or pretty much the entirety of "Bang Your Head". "The Ballad" gets bonus points for taking the classic metal song format to side-splittingly hilarious lengths. Make no mistake, Dream Evil isn't just joking around, and the lyrics are much more likely to delight than anger power metal fans.
Musically, the band sounds top-notch. With the band led by one of the top metal producers in the business, this isn't too surprising. The booming guitars are mixed a little loud, but in power metal is this something to complain about? Every song has ultra-heavy, melodic guitar work, excellent solos, head-banging drumming, and fine vocals by Niklas Isfeldt/Nick Night. Whether you have lengthy debates over which Helloween album is best or you got into power metal via DragonForce and think they're the coolest thing ever, whatever kind of metalhead you are (or even if you aren't), this album is highly recommended.
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