Alan Ovington's Album Review - 12 September 2024

Heavy metal will never die. But every now and then, it needs a fresh injection of passion, purity and pomp, just in case. Returning with a new album after a seven years of studio silence, Dream Evil are obviously the right men for the jobs.

Their new album is called 'Metal Gods'. That's what they are, and they will reign supreme. Formed at the tail-end of the ‘90s, by producer Fredrik Nordström and guitarist Gus G. (Firewind/Ozzy Osbourne), Dream Evil smashed their way into the power metal boom of the early 21st century. Their debut album 'Dragonslayer', released in 2002, became an instant hit with fans of thunderous, melodic metal.

The band have been oddly quiet since 2017, occasional tours aside. Fredrik Nordström  says, “We didn’t really disappear, we have just been lazy. It’s been a long time. Mainly because we were all busy, to be honest. We started work on a new album several years ago. We just wanted to make a better album than the previous one. Everybody in the band felt the same. It was simple, really. We just tried to make Metal Gods the best Dream Evil album yet.

Fredrik Nordström is eager to point out that Dream Evil was never conceived as a full-time band, and that their intermittent efforts have often been difficult to achieve, not least due to his own work as one of metal’s best regarded studio gurus. In contrast, Metal Gods sounds like an album made by musicians on a mission, driven by honest enthusiasm and a profound love for the heavy metal ethos.

Guaranteed to have audiences banging their heads and screaming themselves hoarse, the new songs will fit perfectly with the highlights of the band’s catalogue to date. Dream Evil hit the road later this year with their most extravagant stage show to date. When the world needs heavy metal, Dream Evil deliver it. It’s that simple.

* Alan Ovington's Rock Zone can be heard 7-9pm every Wednesday on 103.6FM Tameside Radio (repeated Friday 9-11pm) and On Demand at tamesideradio.com. More rock news at therockzone.net. Twitter @tamesiderock