Dream Evil are – and I’m not exactly going out on a limb here – one of the most traditional-sounding heavy metal bands around.
The type of metal band that people who don’t like metal think all metal sounds like. Bombast, headbanging, and near-thrash sounds abound on the title cut here.
And here’s the thing: whether you’ve heard music like this a million times before or not is immaterial – Dream Evil are wonderful at it.
The ballad “Calm in the Storm” is a slow-building, almost prog thing, and it’s wonderfully done.
And it’s done with love, too, because Fredrik Nordström and his merry band are metal lifers.
Yeah, OK, they’re not the most prolific – “Metal Gods” from last year was their first in seven years – but my, they love what they do.
“We will never kneel on the battlefield,” sings Niklas Isfeldt on “Fight for Glory” – and I’m telling you now, what they’re fighting for is metal itself.
“Criminal” has tinges of early Maiden about it, but there’s just a sense of fun to go with the skill here.
The solos slash in a way that says “don’t dare call these outtakes.” And yet, that’s what they are. Sort of.
“Thunder in the Night” is four tracks that didn’t make it onto “…Gods” and OK, before the internet killed music, they might have ended up as B-sides on a single that came out. We don’t live in that world anymore, so just be glad they’re here.
And also relish the fact that whatever turmoil exists, and whatever else changes, heavy metal will always survive.
RATING: 8.5/10
REVIEW: DREAM EVIL – THUNDER IN THE NIGHT (2025)
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