A DREAM OF POE – Lady of Shalott CD/EP review

A DREAM OF POE – Lady of Shalott CD/EP
Self Released

This is the side project of IN PECCATUM keyboardist Bruno “Spell” Santos. Basically it’s a two piece doom band with Santos performing all instruments, but he includes various musicians for session duty some of whom are bandmates from IN PECCATUM. The vocals are handled by Paulo Pacheco. A DREAM OF POE are from Portugal by the way, well actually they’re from the Azores which is probably a Doomish place to be. I can see how you would be in a doom metal outfit if all you had as influences were staring at the ocean and reading Edger Allen Poe. I’m sure there were some MY DYING BRIDE CDs on the islands as well after a few listens to this. Lady of Shalott is a five song affair but there are two versions of the title cut, one long and the other a shorter version. Maybe that’s the radio redux version. There’s also a CURE cover, “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep”. So if you wanna get technical, and I always do, there are basically three cuts on here but its doom so it’s a long CD/EP.

I think if you are a fan of the previously name dropped outfit then you’ll get into this. It’s that dreary melancholy type of doom sound and style that just might influence you to walk into the ocean, not for a swim but for a sinking. That’s not a slap against the music here because the ocean floor is lined with doom metal fans since the sound travels well in the murky depths plus the shellfish like it, but I digress. The three main cuts on here, the title cut, “Laudanum” and “Whispers of Osiris”, can’t help but make you think of the oceans waves their place on here taken by the riffs. In surfer speak it would be “Dude, narely riffs”. Then there’s the simple guitar strumming parts that inspire dreams of rocking in a boat at a drift. There’s definitely some island life influences on here. I’m wondering what the male to female ratio is on the Azores. I’m getting that feeling as well plus why hasn’t this act put together a full length yet. Strangely enough the two cuts, “Laudanum” and “Whispers of Osiris”, appear on their previous EP from 2009 albeit they were re-recorded for this one.

www.dreamofpoe.com