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Golem: Dreamweaver

From Berlin, Germany comes Golem, a formidable melodic and technical death metal band whose third full length release Dreamweaver, is a pretty strong statement and should appeal to a wide variety of metal fans. On one hand, there's some lengthy, intricate tunes which will easily intrigue the prog-metal crowd. In addition, you get plenty of brutal death metal in the style of classic bands like Morbid Angel or Carcass. Towards the end of the CD there's also some prog-rock styled noodling that might interest that crowd. This all might sound a bit unfocused, and at times you do get the impression that the band is fighting some stylistic inner turmoil, but damn if they don't just impress the listener with just about everything they do.

The opening "Al-Ghanor" is a breathtaking mix of death and black metal, with furious vocal roars by Andreas Hilbert, rampaging blast beats and double bass from drummer Eric Krebs, and a wicked amount of tremelo picked guitar melodies. Think Dimmu Borgir meets Morbid Angel and you have an idea how this piece sounds. Dark and horror filled lyrics abound on the CD, and provide for an interesting read while you are getting bashed over the head with the blistering instrumental assault. Things get almost completely out of hand on the uncanny "Remote Control", which features not only furious and complex guitar riffs, but some of the most insane drum work I have heard in a while. Gorgeous and emotional guitar chords provide the intro to the doomy "Breeder", where the band slows down a bit (well, except for drummer Krebs that is!) and successfully plods along. You'll like the pounding rhythms and gurgling vocals of "Tomb", hints of the mighty Opeth on "Rose", as well as the melodic guitar harmonies of "Diaspora". Things get really interesting towards the back end of the CD, starting with the majestic organ sounds that kick off "The Tower", a symphonic near 8-minute mix of prog and black metal. This track is complex, orchestral, and melodic, and I'm hoping the band does more in this direction in the future. After the brief and exploratory guitar/keyboard instrumental title track, the band kicks into their epic take on Igor Stravinski's "Le Sacre du Printemps", an instrumental tour-de-force of progressive soundscapes and classical romps. Again, the band really shows their dexterity on material of this sort.

There you have it, a wild and adventurous tour through many different metallic styles for Golem on Dreamweaver. I think once this band settles on the direction they plan on moving in, they will be a monster force to be reckoned with. This one's close to being a scorcher folks, and the next can only be better.


Track Listing
1. Al-Ghanor
2. Starchild
3. Remote Control
4. Breeder
5. Afterglow
6. Rose
7. Tomb
8. Diaspora
9. Faces
10. Tower
11. Dreamweaver
12. Le Sacre du Printemps

Added: January 17th 2010
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Golem Website
Hits: 2321
Language: english

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Golem: Dreamweaver
Posted by Scott Ward, SoT Staff Writer on 2010-01-17 15:14:33
My Score:

Once again Metal Mind Productions has brought you a group that you may have missed on the first time around but will be glad you got another opportunity to discover. This time the progressive death metal band Golem is the benefactor with the re-release of their third offering the 2004 disc Dreamweaver.

I find it hard to believe that this band has not attracted more attention from the metal fans. Here is an album that shows great promise and a diversity that can not be pulled off by just anyone. Pounding death metal may be their forte but the band also shows a much more progressive side especially when they turn to full instrumental pieces as the very cool and intricate "Le Sacred du Printemps" and the short title track "Dreamweaver". They also mix their styles very well on a song like "Dispora" where the light beginning leads you to the brutal middle section before easing off a bit before melting your face off to end it. These are both classic progressive metal at a very high level and will reward those that are willing to take the chance on these guys.

Don't for one minute think that these guys are soft though. From the brutal opening tune "Al-Ghanor" to such songs as the insane "Remote Control" these guys deliver an incendiary death metal treat. I love their approach and even though it might seem to be a bit all over the place this is only because it is a lot easier to like what they are doing then describe it. I suppose if you took one of the old style death metal bands such as Morbid Angel and threw in some Petrucci style guitar work now and then you might get an idea of what to expect. No matter how you describe it, this disc was a major surprise and very enjoyable.

Now for the bad part, there is suppose to be a video clip on this disc but I could not get it to play in the DVD or on the computer. Also, the track listing is not right and made it hard to follow. Neither of these problems distracted from what I found to be a very worthwhile disc. Believe me…you will not get this one confused with the Gary Wright album of the same name. It is a very good bit of metal from a band that I hope continues to push the envelope.



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