Hungary's Dreamgrave is one of those bands you start listening to and instantly like what you hear. I discovered their new album "Presentiment" by mistake and very soon, it was clear for me that these guys have a lot to offer. Their first EP was released back in 2009 and this year, the dark progressive band is presenting its first full-length release "Presentiment".
"Presentiment" is a conceptual album consisting of eight chapters (aka songs) dealing with life itself: Our world, our society and, last but not least, our very inner thoughts and fears, from birth to death. Therefore, the album sounds very cinematic throughout while maintaining a dark progressive approach, kind of a mix of Katatonia, Opeth and Tool. At some point, I heard some Dream Theater-inspired riffing and synthesizers in the style of Vanishing Point.
There is good news for those of you who are digging great soprano vocals, as female singer Mária Molnár is doing her job really well, she succeeds at sophisticated coloraturas and features an impressive range. Dömötör Gyimesi is a very gifted singer as well, delivering both clean and guttural vocals at a high level. His cleans have a warm sound to them and his deep growling is on the more extreme side. Dreamgrave as a progressive metal band also show their more gothic side through vocals: the way both vocalists sound and how they arrange their vocal lines/rhythms reminds me a lot of After Forever's first album "Prison Of Desire".
Dreamgrave do try out different musical elements - there is barely anything you won't find here - but don't sound overloaded. The songs are arranged very intelligently, while the record as a whole sounds completed and leaves nothing to be desired, as well as the band is getting ready to establish a very interesting and unique style. A very important point is that "Presentiment" is full of emotion and addresses to every listener's heart.
It's a shame that so little people know about this amazing and talented act. Dreamgrave could appeal to such a wide audience, from gothic rock/metal lovers to progressive metal and symphonic metal fans, everybody could enjoy their music. I highly recommend you to listen to "Presentiment" for yourself to truly understand its beauty and message. Dreamgrave will cast a spell on you - they did on me.
