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DREAMING DEAD
Mountain Of Skull EP

Earblast (2023)
Rating: 6.5/10

Malaysian death metal act Dreaming Dead originally formed in the late 90s and released a demo, Ended War, in 2000. Now, after what appears to be several years of inactivity, the band return with this debut EP featuring four tracks: ‘Annihilation Marching’, ‘Red Blood Screaming’, ‘For Hate’ and ‘Mountain Of Skull’.

Mountain Of Skull is a slightly unorthodox release boasting unusual vocal rants which don’t always sit well with me. At times, musically, this reminds me of the old UK death metal band Benediction, but the vocalist seems to be on a different planet from the rest of the band and somehow the EP maintains its charm through its peculiarities.

‘Red Blood Screaming’ has a strong ghastly streak and also boasts some wild lead work, while ‘For Hate’ chugs with a raw conviction as pace and mid-temp malevolence is fused. Vocalist Chang has that real gnarly tone, an obscure choppiness to his vocals if you will that at times add to the primitive urges of the EP, but at other instances bring a frailty and awkwardness.

Somewhat of a curiosity, Mountain Of Skull pushes the right buttons for the most part and has that strong underground vibe, but whether there is enough going on to provide longevity remains to be seen.

Neil Arnold

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