DREAM II

The Dream II EP is the first official release ( if you don´t include their demo) by Swedish experimental death metal act Pan.Thy.Monium. It was first released as a 4 track 7 EP vinyl only in 1991 but was re-released in 1995 by Avantgarde Music as a 5 track mini-CD ( EP) with the song IV as a bonus track. Pan.Thy.Monium is one of Edge of Sanity/ Nightingale frontman Dan Swanö´s many projects. Here on Dream II he plays drums and bass under the pseudonym Day DiSyraah. Edge of Sanity drummer Benny Larsson appears on the EP as Winter.

The music style is sombre and sinister death metal with lots of atmospheric keyboards. The vocals are brutal growls and this is probably not for the faint at heart. The songs are not as experimental as later output from the band but this is not ordinary old school Swedish death metal either allthough the music is certainly rooted in that genre. Aag aka Tom Nouga (Lead guitars, organ, barytone saxophone) has not entered the band yet and his future contributions on saxophone are especially missed on Dream II. The three first songs ( named I, II and III) on the EP are in experimental death metal style while the fourth track called Vvoiiccheeces is a short atmospheric keyboard track. The bonus track IV is in the same style as the first three.

The musicianship is good and the sound quality is actually pretty good if you compare it to the standard of those days. Raw and unpolished but still enjoyable.

Dream II is a must for the fans of the band and it should also hold some interest to fans of early experimental Swedish death metal. I find later releases more interesting but Dream II is certainly a worthwhile purchase. A 3 star rating but actually close to a 4.