SMOULDER · Dream Quest Ends | CD

Jewel case CD.

Background information about 'Dream Quest Ends'

"Dream Quest Ends" is the sound of a band slamming the book shut on a chapter — and doing it with style. Smoulder had already turned heads with their debut "Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring," and here the Canadian epic doom crew gather up the loose ends: two brand-new tracks, a loving Manilla Road cover, and the three cuts from their 2018 "The Sword Woman" demo, all under one roof. The two fresh numbers, "Dream Quest Ends" and "Warrior Witch of Hel," were written years back by drummer Kevin Hester and rebuilt into something far more Smoulder-shaped, stacked with lead guitar trade-offs and choir-like backing vocals. They lean bluesier and more psychedelic than the debut, with hushed acoustic passages and dueling voices that keep you guessing where the next riff will land.

Then comes "Cage of Mirrors," their tribute to the late Mark Shelton of Manilla Road. Guitarist Vincent picked it for its raw emotional delivery and its sword-and-sorcery storytelling, and vocalist Sarah Ann throws herself into Shelton's wavering, unpredictable phrasing — growls, laughs and all — until the song feels like it was always theirs. Michael Whelan's artwork wraps the whole thing in that same iconic fantasy glow he brought to the debut, and the recordings, cut in Toronto and Chicago in October 2019, sound warm, live and gloriously unpolished in the best way. It's a farewell to one era and a promise of the next, and it lands like a hammer.

For fans of: Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Atlantean Kodex

Other Versions

CLEAR LP · 23,99 €

Track listing

Dream Quest Ends

1. Dream Quest Ends
2. Warrior Witch Of Hell
3. Cage Of Mirrors
   The Sword Woman
4. Sword Woman
5. Voyage Of The Sunchaser
6. The Queen Is Gone

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