Enclosed

Before I begin my review, I must admit that I may have purchased this album for the wrong reason. I am a big fan of Dark Moor’s work with Elisa singing, especially “The Gates of Oblivion”. So I bought a copy of Dreamaker’s “Enclosed” because I wanted more of her voice, and to see what she was up to. As it turns out I was to be fairly disappointed...

This album differs from most of Elisa’s earlier work in that it has a very “industrial” sound to it. Her vocals do not sound much like her work with Dark Moor or Fairyland at all. They are considerably harsher at some points, and she engages in some toneless yelling/screaming as well. Granted, I would not have been so disconcerted by this had I not listened to her earlier singing, and so this is subjective on my part. I can safely say however, that her voice seems to suffer in quality here, and seems to lack some of its former passion.

While the music is quite driving, there is a distinct lack of catchy hooks and guitar melodies. The music is more dissonant, and at times begins to sound repetitive. Though on the whole this is a bit better than other industrial metal I’ve heard, I’m not a fan of the genre, and it doesn’t impress me. To be frank, the impression I get from the band is this: after their former success, (3 members of Dreamaker, including Elisa, are former members of Dark Moor) they broke off to create a band to use as an instrument to complain about how life isn’t fair and that other people shouldn’t tell them what to do.

Sound a bit adolescent? It is. The first song opens with the lyrics:

“If you tell me that I can’t, I will.”
“If I say that I will do it, I’ll do it when I want.”

also…

“I live my own life, don’t try and stop me!”
“I don’t do the right things, but it doesn’t matter.”

Lyrics that sound like they were penned by a rebellious and “misunderstood” teenager, and the music is sub-par for veterans of a well-established and successful metal band. So, yes, I’m disappointed, and have recently sold my copy of this cd. Elisa should have stuck with the beautiful music that she started with.

Dreamaker was a band that was founded by three members of Dark Moor, who had left the band because of musical differences. Dreamaker incorporates a more mainstream "industrial" sound, unlike Dark Moor, especially with this album. This is evident on tracks like "Perfect Soul" and "Reverse Universe".

I first heard the band on a VA compilation from bands that had worked with Spanish producer Big Simon. Their song "Reverse Universe" stood out, so I listened to their record, and every single song was great. Despite what it says on their Metal Archives profile, this band is industrial metal, and some of the best in the world, a lot better than Ministry or Rammstein.

Spain has given the metal scene some good bands, especially ones like Dark Moor and Dreamaker, which are or were female fronted. Unfortunately, Dreamaker's record deal was only for two CDs, making this their last release. However, it is a very memorable CD, and my favorite song from it would have to be "Perfect Soul" though their are a couple of songs that I didn't enjoy like "End Of Your Suicide" and "So Far Away From Home". The title track was good as well, though not up to the level of Reverse Universe.

This record is rare, so you are one lucky bastard if your can get your hands on it. You might have to pay extra, but it's certainly worth it.