review: Dreams of Gray - a vigor somber sublime

Dreams of Gray

A Beginning

5 September 2025

1.A Beginning 4:49

2.Beyond the Sky 4:25

3.Across the Endless Sea 4:27

Headbanging metal music, namely, melodic death metal, comprises an important element in the forging of Dreams of Gray's energy and  heaviness, which often launches into bouts of speed, and sometimes blasting speeds. The fundamentals of the classics of metal music are at work: effective riffs, focused songwriting and a general a sense of efficiency. That's the vigor in this music. For example, the three songs all work within the four-to-five-minute mark, and they stay on point. There are no self-indulgent tangents. These are songs, not exercises in showmanship or experimentation. It's difficult to argue against the focused songwriting found on this EP.

I already told you that headbanging metal music is front and center with Dreams of Gray, but there is an additional component. The mood, at times, is rather somber and consists of reflections on mortality and the recurring theme of solitude, expressed in melodies loaded with longing, either looking back into the past or with eyes set on a horizon yet to be manifested but anticipated. Whereas one would expect a soft or even a frail type of feeling, the actual result abounds in energy, given that thrash and death metal, are the main pillar of Dreams of Gray. The intense, heavy vocals of death metal are essential here, but there are various tones even within these hard vocals, from the lower end to the more extended screams. By way of contrast, the melodic vocals range from a controlled or restrained voice to a melodic midrange male singing tone, and to even more melodic vocal passages. (FYI, right now, only one song is available for listening, and it's on the third song on here that you will hear some other different vocal touches, steps that are expanding the vocal repertoire of Dreams of Gray.)

In short, Dreams of Gray aims to give the audience a more complete aesthetics and a well-rounded listening experience. It's not about aggression nor depression, but rather about inner strength in the face of the constant struggles of life, paired to the energy of metal music. You will find that the vocals are surprisingly comprehensible. I don't have the lyrics, but I didn't find it a problem to figure out the words. The lyrics bring forth not pessimism but rather resilience, and the music gives the listener a vigor that is somber and sublime.

Below you will find the first song of this new EP and also the entire 2023 debut EP. The 2023 EP is certainly a good introduction to Dreams of Gray.

A Beginning by Dreams of Gray

The World After by Dreams of Gray

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