Domain Of Dreams is a Bulgarian progressive metal band which has existed a number of years. Formally known as Solaris (not the Hungarian version), the band now consists of founders Daniel Radev, who takes care of the vocals and his brother Plamen Radev, who plays guitar and is responsible for the orchestrations. Bass player Emil Angelov is also a long time band member and recently Oggi Kiossovski joined the band. The latest addition to Domain Of Dreams is Ivan Popov, who was the lead guitarist of Bulgarian Music Idol. Since they're claiming to be a progressive metal band, I have to put some remarks here. Yes the majority of the songs can be labelled under that moniker, but other songs, like the opener; The Dream Of Revenge and The Dream Of The End, go towards the neo classical metal of the nineties, where bands like Artension and Symphony X come to mind. The drumming on the album takes you more in the direction of power metal with lots of double bass rumbling on. Listening to the album, you might get a little distracted by lead vocalist Daniel, who has a “special” voice, which doesn't do justice to the compositions. The Dream Of The Past is a great song, with great orchestration; piano, cellos and violins, but you have to get through Daniels voice first before you can appreciate the true beauty of the song. The Dream Of Despair is cool and powerful and I have to give credit to the guitars, which provide some tasty solos. The Dream Of Dreams is a strong song, which shows the potential of the instrumentalists, but has too many vocal parts to keep me focused. Domain Of Dreams is a hard album to review because I hear a lot of potential and the song structures are great. A big thumbs up to the orchestration and I think the guitars and bass are wonderful. The only thing that needs some attention is the vocals and I do realize, Daniel is one of the founders, but his dramatic and emotional vocals are not quite the style that could give Domain Of Dreams the boost that they need to get known in the international world of progressive metal. Perhaps an instrumental album could get the attention the band needs. *** Pedro Bekkers (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
