DREAM ARIA

— First review of this album —

When I look back over my writings of the last 30+ years I divide it into two distinct periods, namely when I was in my country of birth, and when I moved to my country of choice, so up to and including 2006 for the first and 2007 onwards for the latter (although we moved to Aotearoa 15 years ago I managed to get away with not writing anything at all at least for a few months). Dream Aria belong in the first period, as I fell in love with and reviewed their debut album the year it was released, 2005. Due to the move I lost touch with many bands at the time, especially as I had decided not to write anymore (we can all see how that worked out), but a few years back I again got in touch with keyboard player Don Stagg and singer Ann Burstyn, and have been fortunate enough to hear both their excellent 2017 album 'On The Other Side' and their new one, 'Out of the Void'.

As with many bands, they have been through a lot in their career, both musically and personally, and this has had an impact on their output which means this is only their fifth album, but it is all about the quality and not the quantity. Although they have roots in neo-prog, they are often more symphonic in nature with swathes of keyboards combining with pushing guitars and (sometimes) violin while at the front of them all is Ann. She is one of those singers who can turn on both rock and trained classical, providing not only a wonderful range of notes but also totally different ways of hitting those notes as she uses head voice at times, mixing it up at others. There is a warmth and acceptance on this album unlike many in the scene, with a wonderfully sympathetic production which allows the listener to sit with headphones on, gradually turning up the volume. It is an inviting piece if work, which while never challenging allows the band to provide power when the time is right. I still do not understand why Dream Aria are not more widely known with the prog world, and as I write this, it will be the first review on ProgArchives for an album which has been out for nearly a year. For those who enjoy female fronted progressive rock, then Dream Aria is a name you should be aware of, and this is a great place to start the discovery.

Straight from the first notes of 'The Rhythm Of Now' I knew I was going to enjoy this 2008 album. Back in the 90's I headed out one night to a dive called Oxford Stocks to see the mighty Legend supported by Incubus Succubus, and here I was now listening to a number that could have been released if those two bands had joined forces. Ann comes over as a forceful Candia, Don provides all the finesse of Stephen Paine, Garry Flint has the energy of John Macklin while the combined four guest guitarists bring forth images of both Tony McKormack and Paul Thomson. High energy progressive rock with the emphasis strongly on the latter, this and 'Labyrinth' fair crunched through the speakers.

But when the third number, 'Transcend', started I soon realised that the guys were going to be mixing it up. This number is probably the heaviest in terms of riffs, but there are just so many elements in this as the music keeps changing and swirling, bringing in eastern influences, using a superb fretless bass against almost tribal drumming, while Ann again puts a different edge into her voice while always being in total control. It doesn't matter if she is being asked to sing sweetly, or provide a hard rock attack, her voice is always just right for the job in hand. Don keeps himself more in the background than many keyboard players, but he is always at the heart of it, whether it is gentle repeating piano or something more dramatic, while they always keep the guitars close to hand, ready to drive the rock element even further if the need requires, but never allowing themselves to stay settled inside any one particular element for too long.

I've only just come across this album, which at the time of writing hasn't even had a review on ProgArchives so I'm obviously not the only one. That is not only a shame, it's criminal, as this is a superb album.

One day I was perusing LinkedIn, and a suggestion came up for someone I may know, Don Stagg. The name rang a bell so I checked out Don's profile, only to see that he is keyboard player with Dream Aria. My music filing system triggered in my brain, and I remembered reviewing their debut album some 13 years previously, so I dropped him a line. A short while later and I discovered that not only were the band still active, but that they are #1 on the Overall ReverbNation Global Charts {5 million bands}! This album has been featured on nearly 400 radio stations, while they also came #1 in the 2017 DarkAwards. Not bad for a band who in many ways seems to slip underneath the prog radar.

Checking the line-up for this 2018 release against their debut, which is still on my shelves, and singer Ann Burstyn, keyboard player Don Stagg and Garry Flint (drums) are still there, and have now been joined by Andrew Berezowsky (guitar, violin) plus a few guests. Ann is a professionally trained singer, who can go easily from operatic to rock, and on the title track provides wonderful harmonies to her own vocals as Don provides piano and keyboards which combine with strings to create something that is modern, delicate, rocky yet also restrained with inner beauty. What I found most compelling with this album is the sheer diversity of styles on offer. When I reviewed their debut I said that there wasn't a great deal of rock, but listening to opener "Black Mirror" there is no way that anyone can say that about their music these days. Hard guitar riffs and sharp guitars contrast with the held-down keyboard chords, drums, and attacking vocals which move through multiple styles all in eth first couple of minutes. From the off I was entranced and began to wonder what I have missed out on by not hearing the two releases between the debut and this.

I actually added this album to the ProgArchives database, and as of yet no-one else has reviewed or even rated this, which is something I am at a loss to understand. When an album is as powerful and wonderful as this, then they should be shouted about from the rooftops. This is stunning in just so many ways, and fans of neo, metal, symphonic, gothic and so many other styles need to investigate this immediately.