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Hello metal warriors! Long time, no see! I’m back to tell you about a band I wrote about many moons ago on Metal Bandcamp: Dream Troll. Hailing from Leeds, England, the band delivered a righteous offering of traditional metal that added a sleek coating to the Barbarian metal sound. The Knight of Rebellion was like Iron Maiden and Manilla Road running on Windows 10. And guys, I have to be honest with you right now. Start actively supporting this band right now, because they are going to be the next big thing in traditional and power metal. I promise you. With this new EP, The Witch’s Curse, the band strikes while the iron (maiden?) is hot and proves that their debut was no fluke.
A revelation I had about Dream Tröll while listening to The Witch’s Curse for the first time that I did not include in my original write-up is that the band really isn’t a full-on “throwback” act. It’s subtle, but the band knows how to make their music sound modern both in composition and in production. This hit me during the first track on the EP, “In The Name of Isabella”, where the music breaks down into a bit of a hard rock groove as new vocalist, Paul Walsh, sings “Listen up boy you've only got one chance…”, and suddenly we’re barely in a metal song anymore. Of course, the mighty riffs returns full blast but the short detour adds so much to the character of the music. Hell, there’s even some tasteful cowbell on this thing in later tracks. The same tight production from Rebellion also adds to the more modern approach to a classic sound.
Witch’s Curse is a bit more theatrical than Rebellion. Where their debut album, despite the title, had orderly and neat hooks, Walsh adds some grit and spirit to his lyrical delivery, painting a vibrant picture of the medieval tales and occult drama. To further assist their epic storytelling, their long songwriting is back and better than ever. Dream Tröll never just lets a song write itself with boring, generic riffs. Each section of the song is expertly crafted to fit the words and story. There’s so many harmonies, diverse riff choices, clean sections, and a thrilling rhythm section. It’s actually very reminiscent of Blind Guardian’s approach to their music, especially in their later albums. It’s not that their writing the most dense and complex music of all time. Dream Tröll , like Olbrich and Kursch, simply has a firm grip on their sound and know exactly how to paint the story with the talent that they possess.
This EP will certainly give fans of Knight of Rebellion something more to chew on while they wait for the full follow-up from Dream Tröll. Keep an eye on these guys and check out their absolutely brilliant traditional heavy metal on their Bandcamp page. You will be singing along in no time.