Diary of Dreams - Ego:X

Stripping away the previously impenetrable layers of swirling darkness, Diary of Dreams have made what could be their most vital and curious album since 'End of Flowers'. Adrian Hates, the mastermind behind the band, does some spoken word pieces on here which break the mold of this band's sound quite nicely. Yes, there are still those key lines anchoring a lot of this, they appear to be somewhat integral to the composition of his songs. The guitars are pulled way back, and given space to do some rather interesting excursions into overdubbed loops that would not be out of place on an album by, say, Fields of the Nephilim . Don't worry, Adrian still keeps his own vocals breathy and resigned just as always but the music has undergone a major stylistic shift.

There is much more emphasis on overall dynamics and a hard edged rock basing to the works on here doesn't hurt one bit. I had wondered how long they could do variations on themes which they've covered so thoroughly in the past. There's a bit of brand loyalty to being a Diary of Dreams fan, I'll admit and in this they deliver an album which has the sounds we've grown so fond of and even though some of the lyrics get on the juvenile side of things at times, the cinematic love of atmosphere remains intact. Unlike a lot of their other works, 'Ego-X' is most definitely a band in the midst of a major transition. If it is possible, they have honed their material to an almost unearthly sheen of beautiful precision. I like the spoken ramblings which they at last decided to give more prominence, it makes it all have a much more transitory feel, like you're on a road trip to an as yet undiscovered circle of hell, no purgatory awaiting you.

By simplifying their arrangements, Diary of Dreams move out of the shadows towards a more curious field of musical exploration. Everything on here is executed with frenetic attention to detail, I'd bet they spent a lot of time being sure each individual sound was placed in the most opportune position, never leaving anything to chance or happenstance. If you've been wanting something a bit more demanding than the usual thump laden odes to 'evil', 'Ego-X' will suit your tastes impeccably and even if you're like me and some days feel you're too old to be listening to such accessible borderline pop music, there are enough detours into discord to keep it interesting. The guitar work on here must have involved myriad takes to get just right, Gaun-A, your playing is both subdued and succinct.

The creativity of this outfit is once more showing that there's a deviously muscular level of range to come and that 'Ego-X' is just a jumping off point into more exotic, uncharted regions. Keep it up, gentlemen, the experimentation is a welcome change and though you've been dabbling with it since 'Nigredo' there's no reason to keep those unhinged tendencies locked up anymore. They have done classically tinged releases before, however, it hasn't been given this kind of free reign to shine yet and when I compare it to 'End of Flowers', long time listeners will know what I mean as that album was them before they found the formula which came to fruition on 2000's 'One of 18 Angels' with the honed monster which was "Butterfly: Dance!". Aside from Hates' vocals, Diary of Dreams have added a lot of new variables to the mix and you'd be forgiven for not taking to it at first (I had around 15 listens before I was sold, because at first it seemed very very lazy on their part) but the reason for why it's so sparse I suspect is that they don't know what to fill those spaces with yet. But given time, they will. This is just the framework. Aug 29 2011