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On disc: Assailant



- Wicked Dream - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars


www.assailant.se







Wicked Dream

Wicked Dream
(Dockyard 1 - 2008)


With Nemesis Within the Swedish sextet presented their debut in 2006. Now they are back with the follow-up Wicked Dream. The band of guitarist Oskar Norberg - younger brother of Nils and Emil - offer a blend of progressive power metal with aggression and some death metal elements. Singer Peder Sundquist has a powerful and variable voice - from melodic parts to raspy melodic death metal-like parts and screams. The opener A Day Tomorrow is a heavy track with progressive, symphonic keyboard parts, heavy riffs and a certain amount of aggression. They speed up with the title track Wicked Dream. This one is closer to the melodic death metal stuff then the opener, but there is the other side of this song which is very melodic and catchy. During the refrain singer Peder Sundquist sings very melodic, but during the up-tempo parts he sounds mean and his vocals are aggressive. An interesting mixture, but it might make it tough for them to find their target group... Coz for some they won't be melodic enough and other might find them too melodic... It's a walk on the razor's edge. I like Wicked Dream with it's melodic and aggression. With keyboard The Sin kicks off, but also with heavy riffs. The song has a different feel.... Somehow it's threatening. Not one of their fast tunes. One of my favorites is Fade Away... I somehow have to think of Lefay.... And the more aggressive parts remind me of Darkane... As both are great bands, it's no problem for me. The mid-paced tune is catchy and easy to get in. Actually the mid-tempo tunes are more intense and can hook you up - like Catch 22. With Eternal they present their balladesque side with an acoustic tune. The keyboard and vocals are most prominent. The vocals are emotional and moving. Cool tune. And with the last track Instincts they speed up again. An up-tempo track which is based on heavy riffs. In a way this album is going in circles, coz they kinda end the way the started with an up-tempo song with aggressive vocals.
The more aggressive, heavy parts should be something fans of In Flames and Darkane dig, but it depends if how much catchy melodies one can stand.... For fans of more melodic bands the mean vocals and aggressiveness is probably too much. So I can only recommend to listen to some songs and find out, if this is what you like. Check out: Wicked Dream, Fade Away, The Sin and The Cell.


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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