PROJECT: ROENWOLFE — Neverwhere Dreamscape (review)

PROJECT: ROENWOLFE — Neverwhere Dreamscape album cover

Album · 2013 · Thrash Metal

4.5/5 · 2013-09-10
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Neverwhere Dreamscape (2013) is the debut full-length album by US thrash/power metal act Project: Roenwolfe. Project: Roenwolfe is one of the many projects by musician Tony C, who released the album through his Masters of Metal Productions label. In this band he teams up with vocalist Patrick Parris (ex-Theocracy) as well as a few guests including usual contributors from the Masters of Metal family; Bryan Edwards (Vermiform), Brett Windnagle (Lascaille's Shroud) and John Yelland (Judicator). As always for releases from Masters of Metal Productions Neverwhere Dreamscape is available for a name your price download, including getting it for free.

The music is most quickly described as power-thrash but Project: Roenwolfe are most certainly mostly weighing in on the thrash metal side of their influences on Neverwhere Dreamscape, at least in so far as the music is concerned, which is definitely dominated by thrash riffs for the bulk of the release. The vocals however, in contrast to the harsh singing used by many thrash metal acts, are clean and melodic, making them more power metal orientated except for those parts where there's an additional vocalist in a song. In the cases of My Dark Passenger (based on the TV show Dexter) and The Trader of Pain the additional vocals are provided by Tony C which gives the album shades of his recently ended progressive thrash metal band Sedulity. Bryan Edwards provides death growls on Travelers of Destiny (based on Battlestar Galactica) and Universal Mind (based on Doctor Who). Norman Skinner (Skinner, Dire Peril) additionally appears on the title track. His vocals are sort of in between those of Patrick and Tony; a rough edge that Patrick lacks, but less like the harsh snarling employed by Tony.

I think if more thrash metal sounded like Neverwhere Dreamscape then I may listen to the genre a lot more than I do. It's always been a problem genre for me. I love thrash metal riffs, but very few vocalists within the genre have ever impressed me. Tony C’s vocal style is more in line with thrash standards here and also was in Sedulity, but he's proved to be one of the exceptions, which is fortunate, because a thrash vocalist whose voice I couldn't stand would likely have killed the songs Tony sang on for me. But being able to listen to Project: Roenwolfe's thrash metal riffs with Patrick Parris' melodic vocals over the top for the most part is a refreshing change. I think overall I would have liked to hear perhaps a bit more power metal influence coming out in the riff department, but I'm far from disappointed with the way Neverwhere Dreamscape has turned out for these guys. My choice cuts this time have to be My Dark Passenger, which after a cry of “Surprise, Motherfucker!” (never watched Dexter, but perhaps this is sampled from it?) bursts out with some of the best riffs on the album, and also Universal Mind, the longest song on the album, which allows my inner geek to come out with its Doctor Who theme complete with TARDIS sound effect to round the album off.

I have to say though that out of Tony C’s recent releases Neverwhere Dreamcape falls slightly behind Sedulity's The Valley of Dying Stars (2013) and Judicator's Sleepy Plessow (2013) for me. It's still excellent work that Tony and Patrick have delivered here though. Not to understate Patrick’s contribution as the lead vocalist and chief lyricist, but it’s especially praiseworthy for Tony C, as over the last year he’s become one of those musicians who seems to relentlessly release new albums with one project or another. If you go back to this day (writing review on August 27th, 2013) in 2012 you'll find that Neverwhere Dreamscape is actually his sixth album in the space of a year, a time frame that also includes Project: Roenwolfe's demo. I've unintentionally managed to skip over his latest Vermiform release Of Chaos and the Void (2012) but based on the rest up to and including Neverwhere Dreamscape this is one musician who shows no sign of slowing down on the quality output. And that's something I can only applaud because a lot of bands don't manage a run of albums this strong over the course of their whole career, let only within one twelve month period. An exceptional grade rating is deserved.

88/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/project-roenwolfe-neverwhere-dreamscape-t3179.html)