FATE OF A DREAMER

The fate of the dreamer Astrid Van Der Veen (the 14-year vocalist at that time) seemed quite bright 9 years ago when this album was released. She possesses a really attractive and captivating voice which quite resembles to the great female vocalists that since the 90s emerged in the wider prog/rock scene, mainly Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-Gathering). It does not take too long for the listener to realise that it is this voice that is the biggest asset of this release.

Experimental/post metal does not quite describe the style in this album - Arjen Lucassen is slightly experimenting with ambient, electronic and folk sounds which form the main musical platform on which Astrid is allowed to reveal her talent. Metal appears in limited amounts, mainly in the rhythm guitars of some tracks that act as a tempo-creator rather than as the main spine of the compositions. Scarce lead guitar solos are melodic and blend successfully with the ambience where implemented. However, the best melodies come from the flutes and pipes of John McManus in tracks like the promising atmospheric opening trackEstranged, the strong-Ayreon-resembling High and Lost Message, the latter being a touch "folksier".

The two instrumental compositions, Fate and Dreamer show many commonalities, particularly in the way the Mike Oldfield-alike use of the keyboards, but in the end sound quite indifferent. Tracks such as Ashes, Cold Metal and Sweet Little Brother move closer to atmospheric/gothic metal practices, resembling to bands such as Lacuna Coil. Overall, the album flows pleasantly, without big surprises. Compositionally, it does not offer something new to the scene; rather it repeats patterns that could be heard elsewhere and indeed in some Ayreon works. One major drawback of this release is the weak, simplistic and naive lyrics that could put off a demanding listener. The electronic drums also could sound a bit annoying at times.

This release could appeal to fans of generally ambient/atmospheric music and could work for others under particular circumstances, but I could not consider this a good or excellent record. As with most Lucassen side projects, this one does not seem to serve a specific purpose. If this was an instrumental release, I fear that it would have failed miserably. 2.5 stars is thus the most appropriate rating for me, despite the remarkable efforts of young Astrid and the few very good melodies.