Dreamshade

A Pale Blue Dot

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ft. Darkest Hour, John Henry, Rose Villain.
Genre: Metalcore.
Released: 05/03/2021
Via Horang Music

Album Review: Dreamshade – A Pale Blue Dot

Swiss metalcore outfit Dreamshade are back with their highly anticipated album, ‘A Pale Blue Dot’. This marks the bands first new record since 2016 and fans have finally had the pleasure of hearing the new tracks. The album has received mostly positive reviews from media and fans alike so I thought it’s time I checked it out for myself. So without further adieu, here are my thoughts on ‘A Pale Blue Dot’.

The album opens with the highly energetic ‘Safe Harbour’ and I’ve got to say its a phenomenal opening track to the record. The unique use of symphonic sounds really helps to separate Dreamshade from the competition, not to mention the song has an infectious beat that had me bopping along throughout the entire track. This is followed by ‘Lightbringers’ which is a great demonstration of how Kevin Cail’s and Fernando Di Cicco’s contrasting vocal styles work so well together. Furthermore, the melodic instrumental sections clean up nicely and help to elevate the song further. 

‘Question Everything’ is a heavy-hitting metalcore anthem! A catchy chorus accompanied by ripping riffs and an uncanny rhythm that is such a pleasure to hear allows the song to reach its potential and then some. A highlight from the album for sure! Unfortunately ‘Step Back’ comes across as quite a standard entry into the album. Nothing caught my attention while listening to this one and I found the song fairly forgettable. 

Luckily, Dreamshade gets right back on track with ‘Stone Cold Digital’. An interesting blend of the band’s unique blend of symphonic metalcore mixed with the rapping style from Nu-metal makes for an interesting listening experience. I feel as though this shouldn’t work however the band pull it off convincingly and Rose Villain’s soothing vocal feature is a welcome addition that allows the song to stand all alone at the top. My personal favourite track from the record by far is followed up by ‘Impulse’. The song is musically impressive and it was always a joy to listen to when it came up. It’s a solid song that does its job well and will probably find it’s way into many metalcore playlists down the line. 

The halfway point of the album belongs to ‘toD-eulB-elaP-(A)’.  A nice break from the action is created by this beautiful instrumental song. A great way to keep the album’s flow in check and an impressive display of what the band are capable of. ‘Shanghai Nights’ is a strange one. It’s one of those songs that you need to be in the right mood to enjoy however when u are in said mood your gonna love it to bits. I found my opinion on this one constantly changing each time I listened to it and, to be honest, that’s quite a remarkable thing to achieve from a song. 

Up next is the slightly disappointing ‘Elephant’. The song just didn’t seem to work and came across as a jumbled up mix of genres. Each section of the song sounds like it belongs in a different genre which makes the songs flow feel completely off. Not one of the finest moments from the album that’s for sure. Once again the band manage to pull the album back, this time it’s with the song ‘Somewhere Else’. I cannot imagine just how good this one will sound live! The chorus is screaming for a sold-out venue to bellow the word right back at the band and I can’t help but get excited for that very moment when this song comes on. 

Speaking of songs that will kill it live, ‘On My Own’ follows the trend. The fast-paced tune is begging for a pit to erupt during its progression. The riffs are just a joy to listen to and the song will have you banging your head along right from the get-go. As the end draws near ‘Nothing but the Truth’ is a great example of how to pull off a collaborative piece of music. Dreamshade, Darkest Hour and John Henry nail this track with everything falling into place perfectly. Sometimes a feature like this can come across as quite overpowering however these guys absolutely killed it with this attempt. What a song!

It’s time for the penultimate song, ‘A  Place We Called Home’, which is a return to that blend of metalcore and Nu-Metal. I feel like the song is completely overshadowed by ‘Stone Cold Digital’ which unfortunately hurts my opinion on it. The song isn’t a bad song by any means however after hearing how well Dreamshade can execute this style of a song previously, I can’t help but feel disappointed at this attempt. Thankfully ‘Save This’ does enough to give the album a finale worth listening to. A contagious tune that will be stuck in your head for days to come is an incredible way to end an album. What better way to make an album memorable than by getting the final song jammed in your mind for weeks. 

Dreamshade is a very gifted band that know they are capable of pulling off an array of genres. The album has it’s lows however, they are massively outweighed by the positives. The band continue to improve their style and I’m very excited to see what the future holds for the swiss outfit!