Since the early days of Sonic Pulsar, Portugal's Hugo Flores's output has
been prolific and impressive - and Factory Of Dreams is his latest project.
Designed to counterpoint the complexity of his Project Creation music,
Factory Of Dreams is - by comparison - more straightforward and approachable,
less creative and experimental, and it's song-oriented instead of a sweeping
concept piece.
Poles should find a wide audience as it slots neatly into the genre
originally created by The Gathering, and since enriched by luminaries such as
Within Temptation, Nightwish, Edenbridge, Lacuna Coil, After Forever, and Epica
- et al. It is goth metal, though the 'metal' label is used lightly, fronted by
the rich soprano of Sweden's Jessica Lehto. But unlike its genre-mates, Factory
Of Dreams isn't a band - it's a 2-person project, an Internet collaboration,
with vocals and many arrangements provided by Jessica while
multi-instrumentalist Flores provides the rest. Consequently, there's a fair
amount of variety from track to track, though the dynamics and the energy - and
the synth percussion - are consistent, and some might accuse each song of
sounding somewhat similar to the next.
Although it isn't a concept piece in the sense of the complicated Project
Creation story, Flores remains close to his sci-fi story roots with this one.
The theme here revolves around a place on some distant planet comprising two
lands called Poles, separated by a river, divided by good and evil - or "positiveness
and negativeness". This world is ruled by a "Generator Of Illusions", hence the
Factory of Dreams title. It gets more complex, and hints tenuously at modern
society's inclination to ingest what we're told as the absolute truth. That may
sound somewhat over the top, but the theme does add a layer of sophistication to
the record.
"Electric Boom" is a guitar-led piece, and showcases Flores's virtuosity on
his primary instrument - rich guitar work underscored by a fat fretless bass,
and only a few brief lines sung by Jessica. "Air Powerplant" is a standout - one
of the simpler tracks, yet the tempo changes from elegant piano work to a huge
metallic wall of sound, and with Jessica slipping in and out of an operatic
style, it has an appeal of its own. "The Piano In The Sea" is another soft
ballad, with piano and electronica floating above that soothing songstress.
Closing track "Crossing The Bridge To The Positive Pole" ends rather abruptly,
leading you to check your CD player - because surely there ought to be another
song?
If you're a fan of the progressive goth format of a semi-operatic soprano
contrasting dark atmospherics and power-chord driven bass-heavy hard-rock,
Factory Of Dreams is not Poles apart from others in the genre - but it's
a pleasing listen, and has a lot going for it.
Track Listing:
1. Transmission Fails
2. The Sight Of A Better Universe
3. Air Powerplant
4. Factory Of Dreams
5. Gliding Above The Ocean Of Memories
6. Peace Echoing
7. Stream of Evil
8. The Piano In The Sea
9. Generator Of Illusions
10.Electric Boom
11.Crossing The Bridge To The Positive Pole
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