A long-awaited EP release from Erode the Dream finally just dropped today and believe me when I tell you that if you are a big fan of classic alternative, grunge, heavy rock, doom-rock, and even experimental and slightly psychedelic garage rock with brilliant guitar work, then this record is 100% for you.
Neon Nightmares wastes very little to no time whatsoever getting you pulled right in with that first massive and expansive track and the whole album has a way of giving off this vast underbelly while still creating memorable guitar hooks which is something I've missed in heavy music for a long time, and a certain element of character that you get sort of attached to.
One of the main attributes of this record that packs the biggest punch is that energy level and this is no surprise to us as I mentioned earlier, we're a little familiar with these guys and have been waiting for quite some time.
It's been worth the wait.
The energy of this record is absolutely stellar and comes across giving off that classic almost punk style, grunge drive that just reaches out and slaps you in the face, but it does this with a certain level of class if that doesn't sound strange.
It's not just all over the place. It's built really well with a lot of attention paid to the arrangements and compositions along with these classic alternative rock riffs that make you think of bands like Soundgarden or Alice in Chains.
These guys are certainly influenced by the 90's era of alt-rock and I'm glad. Those elements shine through and help to find the staples of what this record is all about at times.
Of course, there's a lot more going on here and they do incorporate that thrashy sonic overdrive with some of their songs as well which plays out perfectly and balances the energy levels throughout the record also.
The whole thing does have a really particular dynamic balance to it, but the songs have hooks to them along with punchy and anthemic style choruses that even when they have that vast undertone to them, still bounce around in your head forever.
You can tell that a lot went into this release. These are not songs that are 3 minutes long. Half are over 6 minutes long and pack great surprises around the corners.
This is absolutely the record you have to listen to in full, from beginning to end. Listening to only one or two songs from this release will not give you the full range of what the whole EP offers.
That's why diving in headfirst is the best way to go especially if you're a fan of heavy rock and almost any style.
There's literally something for everyone here.
The guitar work is perfect. In my opinion, the guitars add the drive and build the atmosphere for a lot of these tracks however, everyone does their thing perfectly. I think that the drums are alive and breathing plus they had a lot of that back-end drive, vocals are intense, boisterous, and often doubled giving them a thicker feel and letting them have the same kind of looseness as the guitars do when they're doubled as well.
I feel like it's just their natural way of doing things, but it just falls together so damn well.
Listening to this record lets you know that they're going to be a great band to watch live.
You know that it's going to be loud, intense, face melting to an extent, and you're going to get a lot of that personality and character just oozing from them in a live setting.
I adore any band that I can listen to on record and automatically know they are going to be killer to see live.
This record has certain elements that go slightly over the top but still make perfect sense with what they're doing. I feel like there was a vision for this record that was met and together the band brought it to fruition by having just an absolute pure love for what they're doing.
Growing up as a kid listening to grunge and alternative rock, this gave me plenty of nostalgic warmth and I feel like it's a record that could have been released then and still make perfect sense
Hats off to Erode the Dream for putting something out there with no walls around it. It's just what they wanted to do, and because of that, it's the best it could be.
This is a killer record from start to finish and I suggest you listen to the whole thing.
Do it now. Do it loud. Remember where you heard it first.