Dreams of Gray - melodic death metal from Chicago, U.S.

Dreams of Gray

The World After

January 2nd, 2023

Chicago’s newest export is a three-song recording by vocalist/guitarist Luis Rivera, from the long-running band Abolisher. Some fans in the Chicagoland area may be acquainted with Abolisher from their gigs and their 2001 recording Lament the Season, which I enjoy coming back to from time to time. Word has it that Abolisher has been rehearsing again. We’ll have to wait and see what happens on that front. On the other hand, Dreams of Gray is already up and running. The vocals are growled for the most part, tending to go for a lower, brutal-tone style while retaining some intelligibility. It’s necessary to say “for the most part,” because there are melodic vocals in some spots, generally done in a supporting role to the growling, but sometimes the melodic vocals come up to the front alone or it might be a line/verse of melodic vocals. Musically, one can detect the thrash foundation of the guitar, tuned down a bit, for that headbanging style of melodic death metal. There are some cool moments of melodic riffing and hooks, and some nifty guitar soloing. Furthermore, some signs point to a desire to expand, like on the slower moments in the third song “The World After,” a track that follows its own path, going towards melancholy, a different side of the project’s sound. Besides Rivera on guitars and vocals, this recording features Phil DiCiccio on drums and Marcin Palider (Poland) on bass, while Maria Kosma (U.K.) took care of the bass on the song “Life in Gray.” Lastly, the lyrics are of a personal nature and open to interpretation, done in an intelligent way. Listeners will tell that grief and loss, as well as deception, play an important part in the perspectives on here. Overall, fans of classic-style melodic death metal might be pleasantly surprised by the quality of this entity’s contemporary interpretation of the genre.

The World After by Dreams of Gray

https://www.instagram.com/dreamsofgray/

https://www.youtube.com/@Dreamsofgray