Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

BAD DREAMS

Crossover Prog • Argentina


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Bad Dreams picture
Bad Dreams biography
Formed in 1990 in Buenos Aires, Argentina

BAD DREAMS is a Latin American progressive rock band consisting of Gabriel AGUDO, Jorge TENESINI, Alex CALVERA, Ariel TRIFUNOFF and Fernando COREJO. The group started out as a GENESIS cover band which over 10 years became known well enough to recognize their accomplishments as musicians. This also led to contact with Steve HACKETT, for whom they became an opening act on his tour, and the last GENESIS singer Ray WILSON with whom they also played with. In 2015 the band became the first Latin American band in the Cruise To The Edge celebration where they played successful shows.

In 2015, BAD DREAMS started of releasing their own solo material. They released their debut album 'Apocalypse Of The Mercy' and followed it up with 'Deja Vu' the next year which features Steve ROTHERY of MARILLION on one of the songs. Music of BAD DREAMS can be recommended to both fans of GENESIS but also of neo prog in the vein of MARILLION.

BAD DREAMS Videos (YouTube and more)


Showing only random 3 | Show all BAD DREAMS videos (2) | Search and add more videos to BAD DREAMS

Buy BAD DREAMS Music


BAD DREAMS discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

BAD DREAMS top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.17 | 93 ratings
Apocalypse Of The Mercy
2015
4.00 | 101 ratings
Déjà Vu
2016
3.89 | 57 ratings
Chrysalis
2017
3.63 | 24 ratings
Frozen Heart
2020

BAD DREAMS Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

BAD DREAMS Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

4.00 | 4 ratings
Live from the Edge
2017

BAD DREAMS Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

BAD DREAMS Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

BAD DREAMS Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Déjà Vu by BAD DREAMS album cover Studio Album, 2016
4.00 | 101 ratings

BUY
Déjà Vu
Bad Dreams Crossover Prog

Review by tszirmay
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

5 stars I was among the many skeptical minds that wondered about the future of Crossover prog, a style that has had some early failures as well as some outright winners but that has really come a long way in the 21st century with an explosion of marvelous talents worldwide. Being part of a PA team dedicated to Crossover certainly helps in discovering new artists, for the benefit of the greater prog community. A few weeks ago, I got my first taste of Argentinian group Bad Dreams, a stunning 2015 debut called 'Apocalypse of the Mercy' which blew me, along with many other fans, sideways! I salivated, drooled and waxed eloquently about the sterling music within the gorgeous package, a finely chiseled group of veteran musicians who had honed their chops as a Genesis tribute band. That album, chock full of crushingly gorgeous melodies, really ignited a profound flame within my soul and I felt compelled to hunt down this sophomore recording, knowing full well that my level of enthrallment might rise even higher. The core group is the same: Guitarist Ariel Trifunoff is a delirious talent both evocative and intense, keyboardist Jorge Tenesini displays perfect style, combining modern synths with delicate piano and organ, a subtle bass player in Alex Calvera and a solid rock drummer in Fernando Cornejo. But singer Gabriel Agudo tackles the microphone with zeal and a passion that is both surprising and invigorating.

The effective 'Samurai of the Rising Sun' opens the curtains convincingly, showing off spooky atmospherics with scratching guitar licks and steamroller rhythm riffs, allied with thrilling keyboard carpentry. The sudden pretty piano motif carves the first melody effectively, letting Agudo to begin telling his story, ratcheting up the gusto, until the breaking point which comes with a long and stupendous shrieking howl that will catch you by surprise. That dastardly piano maintains the melodic pressure on the gorgeous title track, a showcase for guest Steve Rothery, who needs no introduction, to later peel off a solo that will make your skin shudder. Initially a piano and vocal platform that sheds tears in between the hushed words, tailored into an ornate composition with some adventurous bass guitar foray to boot. This blooms into a harder expression, drums pounding, 'feeling in my veins' and Agudo yelling 'Never!' as Steve Rothery screeches through the keyboard-driven clouds, with an 'otherworldly guitar solo' that takes no prisoners.

'Fallen' has bassist Calvera bruising his double-necked Rickenbacker (a la Mike Rutherford) forever forward, forging a symphonic impression that seems both deliberate and restrained. The careful build-up is quite an achievement especially when things get shifted into overdrive, as Ariel Trifunoff peels off (pun intended) a firecracker of an axe solo, all fizzle and sizzle, hinting as much at Vai/Satriani than Hackett or Howe.

There, far away in the haze, a flicker of imperceptible light seems to shine on the mirrored clouds, reminiscent of the most glorious prog melodies, when an emotionally charged piano takes over the reins of a melody that needs only some lyrics and Agudo's powerful vocal delivery. Drama, passion and power all coalesce into one hell of a beautiful musical moment. The acrobatic and spiraling guitar sparkles festively, a luminous fire that sears the arrangement with grace and fury, Trifunoff showing both virtuosic class and boundless dexterity. The mellotron- fueled symphonics elevate this to celestial heights and once again, I am convinced that I am listening to something beyond the norm.

A minuscule 3 minute little acoustic guitar tableau is presented by the mercurial Trifunoff, who studied at the celebrated Manuel de Falla conservatory and his prefect technique shines brightly, like the fiery Argentine sun glowing as it sets over the Pampas and the blue 'Moonlight' appears .

The band cares not to hide its influences, so the next track is so obvious and evident, just from the title 'A Trick of The Wind', an homage to Genesis that formed their early career and a fitting tribute to a breakthrough prog band. The style at first is closer to a 'Harold the Barrel/Battle of Epping Forest' tinge, the pummeling organ notwithstanding as well as the sheets of Hacketty guitar swaths that both playfully congeal into a typical Banks- styled synth solo. Awesome upbeat and nostalgia-drenched modern prog!

'Frida' ends on a lullaby love song, the proverbial feel good ballad that sounds more English than Latin, a divinely orchestrated, pastoral and acoustic piece a la Anthony Phillips, flushed with a long and pristine synth solo and some more choir mellotrons to weaken the knees even further. Proving once again that the legacy of Peter Gabriel-led Genesis is very much alive even in the most contemporary settings, literally 40 years later and still wise after the event. Bad Dreams is not just another run of the mill clone wannabe but a truly original and extremely gifted musical outfit that displays all the ingredients and the passion that made the Nursery Crime boys so endearing.

And eternal.

5 Been there and done thats

 Apocalypse Of The Mercy by BAD DREAMS album cover Studio Album, 2015
4.17 | 93 ratings

BUY
Apocalypse Of The Mercy
Bad Dreams Crossover Prog

Review by tszirmay
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

5 stars Bad Dreams is new band from Argentina that caught me by surprise, cutting its teeth for a decade as a Genesis cover band, contacting Steve Hackett and then touring as an opening act with the legendary guitarist as well as later with the last Genesis singer Ray Wilson. As a Crossover collaborator, I heard a few snippets and was suitably impressed enough to get this debut, my well-trained prog radar rarely failing me with UFDs (Unidentified Flying Discs)! I consider Bad Dreams to be a closer parallel to IQ than say Marillion, at least musically. Singer Gabriel (snicker!) Agudo sounds more like Ray than Peter, which gives his quite vocal delivery a lighter breezy touch. Jorge Tenesini does a modern reworking of Banks' banks of keyboards, very wide spectrum of atmospheres that serve to elevate guitarist Ariel Trifunoff's glittering electric slides. The rhythm section is vivacious and bold, as both bassist Alex Calvera and drummer Fernando Cornejo pump up the pressure rather eloquently.

I absolutely adore a debut album that has the 'cojones' to start with an epic piece , a unique sense of confidence borne from years of playing the classics together and the 13 minute+ title track does not disappoint, throwing all the hooks, lines and kitchen sinkers into the cauldron. There are moments sprinkled throughout that are above and beyond expectations like the fluid synth extravaganza at the 11 minute mark! Calvera's bass cuddles nicely within the bends and curves of the keyboard onslaught, like two lovers who know their mutual 'erogenous zones (I love you)'! What a sublime opener!

'The Hunters (Alien Statement about Men)' has to be one of the best song titles in recent prog memory but the musicality is not to sniff at either. Assertive beats and delirious emulsion of sounds combine to immediately convince the critical listener that this is perhaps influenced by Genesis but it's a different vibe altogether! The howling to the moon guitar ramble is superb, while the spirited vocals are both celestial and powerful, the accent barely discernible, giving the whole a matchless feel. Crisp rhythmic dynamics propel and pulse with devout determination.

Another major surprise is the majestic 'Closer', where Gabriel's voice goes into agony and despair, making him sound totally different, pushed along by sparkling piano work and an arching melody that reaches for the stars. The entire piece exudes a fresh confidence and artistic bloom, the solo guitar evoking a melancholic passion, but it's really the piano and voice that leads this into nirvana. Wow, speechless!

The heartfelt 'Souls of Lost Love' has all the makings of a classic prog rock ballad, a classic combination of sweetness and power, uplifting keyboard structures that just keeps growing, always passionate and forever prog. Here the latter day Genesis makes an appearance as this could easily have been a 'hit'. Simple structure, nothing technical but firmly focused on the lyrical majesty that takes center stage. For the romantic progger who wishes to get up and tango with Mrs. Prog for a few minutes and end with a long adoring kiss. Once again, great vocal performance, the finale in particular is colossal.

The foot stays on the melodic pedal with the quivering 'A Good Man', organ fury propelling the epic 8 minute eulogy to a decent person into a meandering mist of dreamy soundscapes that initiates the mood, as the clanging rhythm guitars carve the very Floydian melody. Gabriel sounds more like Simon Collins or even Steve Hoggarth (Neverland), slowly ratcheting up the pressure to the point of no return, the nimble piano work only fueling the blaze. Bombastic, symphonic, brazen and heavenly, this is another clear cut winner.

This sterling debut album ends with 'The Day Before Tomorrow', another extended piece that shows another modulation of Gabriel's voice, this time more panoramic, a symphonic waltz that rocks ever so gently, with purpose and flair. The instrumental mid-section lets fly with a spirited romp, proving these guys are able to ramp up the thrusters, but always in complete unison and vision.

Right up there with the best acts such as Comedy of Errors, Cairo, Credo, Sound of Contact and the mellower crossover acts that crown the progressive world with their melodic jewels. A beautiful cover and artwork make this another essential purchase. Repeated listening only enhances the initial feelings and provide even more pleasure to the discerning fan. I for one will hunt down their sophomore album "D'j' vu". Which features Steve Rothery on a track. Clearly the legends (Hackett, Wilson, Rothery) are impressed, you should be too. Another killer debut....

5 Debauched hallucinations

Thanks to historian9 for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.