Dream Evil

Lyrics about killing dragons and battling evil dominates much of Dream Evil's debut, which is no surprise. Add to that a little romance and a celebration of the spirit of heavy metal and you get an album that covers a lot of ground. With producer Fredrik Nordström on guitar and keyboards, and drummer Snowy Shaw, Dream Evil could pass for a super-group, and it shows in well-crafted songs and a finely polished execution. This album is so damn catchy that even people who normally run away at the sound of power metal might find themselves singing along with Niklas Istfeldt (Hammerfall's back-up vocalist). Where Dragonslayer falls short is in maintaining a focus - they get into a good groove and then abruptly switch directions, changing from heavy thrash to a power metal anthem and then a ballad or a swinging hard rock beat. Then again, at least there's something here for almost everyone.