| For a younger metalcore band coming out Los Angeles, CA, I'm going to throw this out there now, and say that we'll
more then likely be seeing a lot more of A Dying Dream here in the future. A part of Mediaskare Records and sharing
the stage with metal bands such as Bleeding Through and Winds Of Plague, they've already made quite the name for
themselves locally. Now with their new release of “Now Or Never”, I expect that all of this is just be the beginning
for this band.
Opening up the album with “The Brave” and ending with it with “Sight For Sore Eyes”, “Now Or Never” is chock full of
those oh so wonderful breakdowns, just for all of you mosh fans out there. They put seven songs onto this cd, and
created what you'll see as entire hardcore dance party all on one cd. The vocals are screamed very powerfully, and
thrown right into your face with angry lyrics going from their first song to their last to the point where you can
basically feel their singers emotions in each line. The guitars and drums supply us with what any metalcore fan chases
after. Giving you those heavy, yet dance friendly parts to listen to. “Now Or Never” ends the cd with a hidden track
of saved messages on a cell phone. You'll get to hear a gay man talking about recording time, a middle eastern man
talking about his son, then ends with someone talking about how he's going to scream and what's going to happen when
he screams, then it leads into another song. It's all pretty hilarious, and something to definitely check out.
Even though this band is quite the treat for you ears, it's a metalcore band non-the-less. I had already expected
everything that I was going to hear before I began to even listen all the way through the cd, and this was just after
listening to the first song alone. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more creativity then so many of those
oh so basic metalcore parts in pretty much every single song on the album. You know what parts I'm talking about, the
typical and yet predictable “Breakdown, then 2-step, then another breakdown again, and oh!? Oh!? What's this!? What's
this pause??ANOTHER BREAKDOWN!?! NO WAY DUDE!”. A lot of times I found me asking myself, “Hey...Hey Bryan?...Didn't you
just hear this?”, which is never a fun thing to ask yourself. A song I'll compare to these “typical parts” on the album
that I speak of is “Now Or Never”. I found the song to be as original as putting on a pair of socks, and as intense as
my cat playing with a ball of yarn in my opinion. Basically, if you're not already into hardcore/metalcore music, then
I'd say to just keep your distance, because I really can't see A Dying Dream to change your view on the genre of music.
Although with “Now Or Never” I found a lot of A Dying Dream to be that “typical metalcore band”, please don't take the
the wrong way. They're excellent at what they do with the music they're trying to play. I'd much rather listen to them
over a lot of the stuff coming out now days in the hardcore and metal world. Yes they had a lot of typical parts, but
they certainly kept me listening, and kept my attention. There was a point where my mom came into the room and told me
to turn down the volume, but you know what, I turned the volume right back up! Just because they kept me wiggling in my
chair (in a good way of course). So props to A Dying Dream on that one. For all of you metalcore fans, check it out. This
is just the album for you.
~ Bryan
October 12 2006 |
