Album Reviews : Desecrated Dreams – In The Embrace Of Lies/Die!mensions

Creating music is so often a progressive, toe-in-the-water field that it often ends nowhere near where the initial spark of creativity left off from. People come, people go, and as with life, people change. Thus it is with Desecrated Dreams. Their latest offering, a five song EP entitled In the Embrace of Lies, coupled with the 2004 full length Die!mensions is almost a split release rather than two releases from the one band.

Desecrated Dreams are a four piece death/black/thrash metal band hailing from Slovakia, with Milan Jozefek (guitars/vocals) being the only current member of the band to have played on the Die!mensions recording, indicating how different this band is now.

The 2004 release of Die!mensions has a much more ambient feel than In the Embrace of Lies. The song structure is similar, but there is a willingness there to proceed beyond the boundaries of the square box where In the embrace of lies is quite happy to bump heads against it. The willingness, however, is almost youthful exuberance, heading the music in the right direction but somehow getting lost along the way. Incorporating elements of classical music, Desecrated Dreams have attempted to create their music for the sake of creating it.

In the Embrace of Lies is a very confident, well thought out release, combining symphonic introduction elements with pounding slave boat rowing beats. Structurally the songs are good, with enough thrash to keep things moving, and enough solos to keep things interesting. Vocal duties are performed with the precision of a butcher cleaving a carcass, and sounding much the same, while the guitar work although nothing new or exciting, commands its own presence.

What Desecrated Dreams toyed and experimented with in Die!mensions has allowed them to become their own band with In the Embrace of Lies. Gone are the classical over tones and bridge changes in the middle of a solid riff, and all in all making them a better band for it.

It’s hard to pin this band down with In the embrace of lies. Hidden amongst the endless thrash riffs and drum barrage are acute solos and timing changes that are indicators of better things to come. Black metal bleakness haunts the background, never allowing the fast-paced drumming to get ahead of itself.

Having only the one original band member, it seems unfair to compare the two releases, but the progression is not just line up changes. There is a maturity with In the Embrace of Lies that Die!mensions was lacking.

Sometimes more is less, as it is with Desecrated Dreams. 7.5/10 for In the Embrace of Lies, 6/10 for Die!mensions

At the time of publishing the view, this release is available for free download via their Myspace.

Band: Desecrated Dreams
Album: In The Embrace Of Lies/Die!mentions (combined release)
Year: 2010 (Die!mensions recorded in 2004)
Genre: Black/Death
Origin: Slovakia
Label: Independent
http://www.myspace.com/desecrateddreamsband

Track listing:
In the Embrace of Lies:
1. Devil’s Garden (The Lost Faith II)
2. Living the Ultimate Nightmare
3. Above the Veil of Shadows
4. In the Embrace of Lies
5. Profound Darkness of the Ages
Die!mensions:
6. Intro – Entering the Die!mensions
7. Magic Eyes
8. False Messiah
9. Prelude of the Cursed
10. Against the Fate
11. Remorse Flow
12. Spirit of the Cruelty
13. Overthrow