Label: Century Media Records
Release date: April 11th, 2025
The surprise Dream Evil served in July 2024 after seven years in silence was a really pleasant surprise, and now, nine months later, like a thunder in the night, they hit with an EP. Four songs are actually completing the previous release, “Metal Gods”. And surprises don’t stop here. Add guests Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) on the title-track and Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall) on “Fight For Glory” on the list and the feeling is complete.
As “Thunder in the Night”, “Calm In The Storm”, “Fight For Glory” and “Criminal” are the songs that are integral part of “Metal Gods”, the cover art does not deviate from what they offered on “Metal Gods”. What I’ve always loved about Dream Evil are the lyrics. Without philosophizing, trying to fascinate fans with complicated words and rhymes, how they think, feel and speak, is the way they write whether you like it or not. And as they say in the title song: “We bring the fire from the depth below, We are the chosen, to battle we will go…” Metaphorically or not, DE brings the power, because what they play might be the best power metal in Europe at the moment, they are chosen and to the battle they go, battle for the true values in music. At least that is how I see DE. After the storm comes the calm. DE would not be what they are without the ballads, “Calm In The Storm” goes hand to hand with “Unbreakable Chain”, “Losing You”, “Love Is Blind”. “I Will Never” and of course, “The Ballad”. “Fight For Glory” brings back the power, delivers an earworm chorus, as already mentioned, Pontus Norgren enreaches the song with excellent guitar work. All the ingredients for a typical DE song are well mixed together and the result is another anthem in their 26 years old career.
In the end, “Criminal”, the song with the great melody, Dream Evil proves that they are masters of easy songwriting. As I said before, there’s no philosophy here, they portray everyday situations in a very plastic way, and no matter how many objections someone may have to their writing style, at the end of the story it all comes down to take it or leave it. As Peter Stålfors says, DE had much fun recording this album, maybe even too much. I have the same feeling every time I am listening to their albums, so we are even. The only complaint that I have when it comes to “Thunder In The Night” is that it is available as a digital release.
