Dream Death - Journey Into Mystery (1987)^{Release ID: 11829}

Some albums most definitely fit into a sub-genre yet at the same time manage to express an alienation to the core sound that seems to make them seem like they do not really fit at all. I cannot think of a better example of this than Dream Death’s debut release. It most certainly has thrash elements but at the same time has a real slant on doom metal. Often listening to it like you are listening to two different bands or a band that is so torn with its influences that half want to do thrash and the other half want to do doom.

It makes for an interesting album in some regards but overall, you cannot get away from the fact that Journey Into Mystery suffers from a lack of direction. The songwriting is not particularly stellar either to boot and so there is a real sense of conflicting purposes over the eight tracks. It is not that any one element is particularly awful, more that no singular piece gets chance at a full exploration or development to its full potential. Personally (even with my fledgling doom metal ears) these guys are a better doom band than they are a thrash band. In fact, on certain tracks (The Elder Race for example) there are no thrash metal elements to my ears. Indeed, post this record saw the departure of bassist Ted Williams and the remainder of the band elected to change their name to Penance and become a doom band.

As far as I can hear, their hearts were never really into thrash at all and all Journey Into Mystery did was prove this lack of conviction made the music suffer. I hear a lot of Trouble in those riffs and at times I struggle with the vocals as I do with Trouble’s debut. The vocals here are so clumsy at times that I find myself cringing. Lines get rushed through often leaving the odd word iterated in isolation and completely out of context. Accepting that this is a debut album, the vocalist is far too forward in the mix and sounds like he is deliberately shouting over everything else which just comes off as amateurish and juvenile.

Whether it simply their own version of uptempo doom or genuine attempts into thrash metal, Dream Death are all over the place here and it really does destroy any sense of flow. The best track on here is the heavily Celtic Frost influenced Hear My Screams, it deploys a consistency (barring that awful, snatchy solo) that the rest of the album is sadly lacking. Maybe back in 1987 this would have more props but come 2022 it certainly has not aged well.

It's been quite a while since I last listened to Journey into Mystery, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge and a lot of music has flowed through my ears. As a consequence, I no longer feel as bowled over by it as I once did, it's doomy take on thrash metal not sounding as awesome as previously. I still love the sound of the album - the obvious Celtic Frost worship of a song like the cthulhian The Elder Race still chimes with me, the doomier sections will always find my favour and I am always up for a bit of punky Slayer-worship such as they dish up on Hear My Screams. The issue I have with Journey into Mystery (which was also an issue with the Dream Death's later iteration, Penance) is that the songwriting is very uneven with some great tracks sitting alongside some that, frankly, fall flat on their face. The two tracks around the halfway point, Black Edifice and Divine in Agony, just don't sound very well put together to my ears and come across as a bit messy, especially the latter of the two. When they do get it right, such as on The Elder Race, Sealed in Blood or the title track, then I am right there, all-in and along for the ride, but when they drop the ball it is a bit painful.

Although there is an undoubted doom metal influence upon Journey into Mystery, in common with the earlier Celtic Frost albums, I don't think there is enough out and out doom metal to cite it as a primary genre on the album, the thrash component outweighing it songwriting-wise, as oppossed to aesthetically. I'm guessing this sounds like a bit of a caning of a former favourite, but I still enjoy this album very much it's just that I am now more aware of it's limitations and so a rating correction is called for I think.