Awaken The Dreamers

Nuclear Blast

So, if you like it heavy as hell with little room to breathe, then Northern California’s technical Death Metal monstrosity All Shall Perish are guaranteed to keep your head spinning and your guts wrenched like a mother. Their particular blend of aggression is a rarity in extreme music, at least when it comes to the American Metal scene but I’ll be dammed if they don’t pull it all together with a fierce stance in the right direction. For their third installment of brutality they once again prove they’re worthiness to be a part of such a magnificent movement. Awaken The Dreamers is absolutely chalked full of rich musicality, angry and merciless while at times being just a tad melancholic. The nicely placed messages of pain and suffering both from a personal and political aspect show that these guys aren’t stupid either. From the opening chords of “When Life Meant More” it is evident that they mean business and any Metalheads in existence would have to agree. My favorite cuts though are the few that incorporate diversity in the form of melody to match the similar styling of a couple of the bands influences (Opeth/At the Gates) namely the beautifully morbid “Memories of a Glass Sanctuary” and the killer closer of “Songs for the Damned”. Now I will say this it took a couple of spins for this album to get my attention as they are not quite up to par with what I am generally in tune with but if they keep heading the direction they are going it won’t be long before I am a tried and true fan all the way.

-Priest