The background to the debut album from The Deaming goes thusly: Chris Hall, formerly of Stabbing Westward and now of The Dreaming chose the title because he wanted to deliver an album that brought back the early Stabbing Westward sound that fans have been asking for. He’s keen to stress that the name Stabbing Westward is now dead and buried, but announces that the founders of the band are pleased to “Rise Again” as The Dreaming.
It gets off to a strong start, with the tribal drums and thunking bass of lead single ‘Alone’ kicking things off, and it becomes very soon apparent that Hall and Walter Flakus are making good on their promise.
‘I’m sick of your empty promises’ Hall sneers on ‘Empty Promises’, and it’s abundantly clear that the same shit that fired Stabbing Westward’s ire – the failings of people, of society – is the same fuel that drives The Dreaming. Yes, they may be older, but they’ve not mellowed, and ‘Rise Again’ is a sharply-focussed distillation of disaffection and frustration, anger and angst. In keeping with this, ‘Rise Again’ is a guitar-driven beast with a shimmering electro skeleton with crisp mechanised drumming and is reminiscent of Stabbing Westward in every way – which is no bad thing.
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Brimming with hooks and tension, ‘Rise Again’ might not offer many surprises, but it packs plenty of meat, and the title could yet prove to be prophetic.
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