Dreams in Fragments - When Echoes Fade Review

The very first seconds of Dreams in Fragments with “When Echoes Fade” made me go from ‘What the hell’ to a ‘Wow’ very quickly. The album started with would be a kind of electronic total waste of my time, but soon enough for me and for the band the music changed a lot turning into some Sympho Metal with a female vocal mixed with an interesting male one. I mean interesting because this kind of duet in general the girl makes a girlie voice in constrast to a male demonic or similar one. That doesn’t happen here. Male vocals are tricky and unsual and that called my attention with “Hey You,” the first and opening track. The truth is that Dreams in Fragments ocasionally return to that electronic vibe as in “By the Sea Forever” and “Bulletproof” both with amazing outcomes though the electronic effects. The secret is that a band may use electronic effects and things, however the guitars MUST be louder than any effect. Simply as that.

One of the things that attracted me to Dreams in Fragments and “When Echoes Fade” is that there are lots of Symphonic clichés in the album, however they don’t sound as clichés. I mean, the band was able to create its own music using very known features. That’s an art, if you ask me. For instance, the vocals. The band has a female fronted vocal what would be a cliché for the genre, however Seraina Schöpfer’s vocals are beyond the usual. The girl has the ability to vary a lot her singing helped by a lot of male vocals that go beyond their chores, and the expected, as well. Take a listen to the choruses in “We Shout Again” and try the very good vocal tune. That gives the songs a very peculiar sonancy that takes the band away from its likes. It happens the same thing with the instrumentals to which the addiction of the electronics effects give a great help. They make the band get its own personality though at times they may be annoying.

As you know my dear child of the night Symphonic Metal isn’t the easiest Metal genre to be groundbreaking. Bands tend to repeat exhaustely the lots of clichés of the genre. In “When Echoes Fade” Dreams in Fragments did their best to avoid sounding so commom ground and they got it, from where I’m standing. Of course, as nothing is perfect in “Showgirl” and “Own the Night” the band slips away with the techno atmosphere that is too much. But no harm done. The album is very good even though.

Dreams in Fragments “When Echoes Fade” will be released on June 18th via Boersma–Records.

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