Flotsam amp Jetsam - Dreams of Death (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

Best album since High!

MetalMarc | Grand Rapids, MI USA | 08/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Good news is Flotsam & Jetsam are back with their best album since High. The main thing that this album has that My God and Unatural Selection lacked is good song writing. All of the songs on here are very well written and have a stronger sense of melody than the past two.

Standout tracks include the crushing and modern opener 'Straight to Hell' with a ultra melodic and catchy chorus. This song actually reminded me of Nevermore a little. 'Bleed' and 'Bathing in Red' are some of the best ballads they have written since 'Destructive Signs'. Yet all of the songs on this album are very good with the exception of 'Parasite,Paranoid' being just ok.

Erik A.K.'s vocals are a real treat as always. He has always been an incredible singer with his ability to sound agressive and melodic at the same time. Most thrash bands rely on a harsher vocal style so it's so refreshing to hear thrash metal with a real singing talent such as Erik.

Like I stated earlier this really is there best effort in quite a while and Flots prove they can still create great metal music. What really holds this album back from being a five star album is the flat production job. It's not terrible or something just a little flat by today's standards. Too bad a legendary band like Flotsam & Jetsam has been reduced to such a small label like Crash and obviously a small budget. Also only 7 songs (two tracks are just short segways) is a little short, a couple more songs would have been nice.

Hopefully this great band will continue making albums and stay relevant in the metal scene.

P.S. Cool Artwork by Travis Smith.........."

4.5 stars one of the best of 2005.

THE METAL HISTORIAN | 08/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I first saw that FLOTSAM AND JETSAM had a new cd out titled DREAMS OF DEATH, I assumed that it was going to be a "best of" type album. The title is the same as a song that appears on their second release, NO PLACE FOR DISGRACE.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was no mere retrospective of F&J`s history but is indeed a new album. An awesome album at that. FLOTSAM AND JETSAM are back and this one is up there with their earlier classic releases. Also, and this is unique for this particular band, it is a concept album. Now some people may feel doubts about this being a concept, but this has a quality that only the truly great concept album have and that is that even though the songs on the disc are telling a story, each song stands out on it`s own.

STRAIGHT TO HELL is a powerful opener, following a breif intro. This song grabs you and hammers away letting you know that the FLOTZ is back. It`s truly an awesome tune and sure to find its spot amonst their earlier classics.

Other great tracks include LOOK IN HIS EYES, BLEED, and BATHING IN RED. They have matured and grown musically. This is the best that they have sounded in years. My only complaint is that the album is a bit short. But in this case, the songs featured on it are killers. The Metal Historian highly recommends. One of the best of `05."

Good album for a great band

LL rock fan | Tokyo | 11/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dreams of Death- a concept album, if I got this right, this is about a man who realizes is a killer and then separates dreams from reality and drowns in sorrow. Eric sings great as usual and the lyrics are very smart. The band is tight and clean. I love the fact that the n. of songs is limited (a recent trend in metal) rather than including filler. A nice little CD that is currently on hot rotation on my Linn system in good company with the children of bodom, the great opeth, gamma ray and the new halloween!"

WOW.......

D. Weber | Detroit, MI USA | 08/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was out for a morning jog and I like to listen to some good heavy metal to take away the agony of running...anyway, I popped in the new Flotsam and Jetsam CD and boy was I suprised. This is one great album..I usually need a first impression from an album for me to want to listen to it repeatedly. This one was great. Ive been a Sanfransisco Bay area thrash fan since 8th grade. I grew up on killem all, bonded by blood, doomsday, etc..I hung out with these guys in their motel room in Cleveland at the Brave words show this year.. classy guys all around..great work on this album and hope to see you come through detroit..oh yea...Erik's kid listens to hip hop...no joke...keep jamming guys..."

The best Flotsam and Jetsam in years

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 08/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After their previous three albums on Metal Blade, Flotsam and Jetsam have released their new disc Dreams of Death through a different label, Crash Music. This platter finds them going back to their older thrash metal roots as well as merging more atmospheric elements into their songs. Overall, the writing is more coherent, the guitar work is more exciting, and Eric AK's vocals are more effective. Dreams of Death may be their best album since the band's Cuatro/Drift days, featuring some meaty thrash metal riffage on the first song "Straight to Hell", which ties in with the brief intro track. This song is one of the most complex, rhythmically advanced, and heaviest numbers on Dreams of Death. Some great guitar work adds gripping melodies and matches the intricate vocals of Eric AK who offers an array of rich vocal deliveries throughout.

The best part of Dreams of Death is the band's noticeable improvement in songwriting, utilising plenty of melodic guitar lines that aren't afraid to explore thrash metal territory at times. Furthermore, there are solos on this disc aplenty. Rather than diving headlong into a groove-oriented style as most old school thrash band tend to do these days, Flotsam and Jetsam are still playing fierce rhythms and stormy guitar runs. Even the shorter tracks, which don't seem to be on the same level as some other songs, have at least a very satisfying guitar solo. The shortest song "Parasychotic" would be considered mediocre had it not been for the awesome guitar solo at the end. I detect some early period Voivod in this solo, which is a welcome similarity to these ears.

It is, however, the more atmospheric elements found on the songs "Bleed", "Childhood Hero", and the amazing "Bathing in Red" which truly diversify the album. Flotsam and Jetsam carefully inject fragments of acoustic guitars and weave them into a metallic tapestry, utilising curious drum and bass workout, overlapping guitar themes, and a fantastic vocal performance. Granted Eric AK is not screaming his lungs out in every song, he still does them all justice singing interesting lyrics ("Look in His Eyes") and rendering the songs more powerful. "Nascentes Morimar" is the instrumental finale of the album and one of the finest on the record. Tense yet overtly expressive guitar themes overlap each other creating thick tonal movements and are replaced by dark acoustic passages. No showboating on this song, but it's so well written, played and recorded that it will please many Flotsam and Jetsam fans. I highly recommend picking up the version with the bonus track "Out of Mind", which is also featured with a hidden track, as the song is absolutely essential and exemplifies the band's thrash metal assault. I love the guitar solo on this piece - it may be the best on the album actually. This is also the longest piece, running almost 12 minutes, but there's a brief silence after "Out of Mind" which ties in with the atmospheric untitled number. Granted it's not a real song per se, it really enhances the overall quality of the record.

Travis Smith has done a fitting artwork for Dreams of Death. It really matches the grey, bleak feelings conveyed. My only complaint would be the production, as it seems a little flat during some points. Strong dynamics and more clarity among the instruments would have rendered this a more amazing record. I believe Flotsam and Jetsam could reach really impressive results if they worked with a producer like Andy Sneap (Nevermore, Arch Enemy)."

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	Flotsam & Jetsam Dreams of Death Genres: Pop, Rock, Metal Track Listings (9) - Disc #1 Requiescal Straight to Hell Parasychic, Paranoid Bleed Look in His Eyes Childhood Hero Bathing in Red Nascentes Morimar Out of Mind
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