DREMORA – Martyrs

Dremora was formed in April 2006 as the brainchild of the multi-instrumentalist Thomas Kampert in Los Angeles. Thomas decided to move against the musical trends in the American Metal scene and brought Juliana Novo to take over the vocal duties in his band with intentions to play Symphonic Heavy Metal. Actually, Thomas got in touch with Juliana in a Nightwish forum when he posted the demo version of the song “Alone.” The fact that Juliana resides in Brazil did not impact the cooperation that took place through the internet (they were rehearsing live over MSN Messenger).

Dremora follows (or tries at least) the path that was carved by bands like Nightwish, Epica, Within Temptation, and other female-fronted Metal bands. In fact, Dremora approach the prime era of the aforementioned bands that were using exclusively operatic vocals. “Alone” opens the EP with a classic Gothic Metal intro comprising keyboard melodies and down-tuned guitars that welcome Juliana’s mainly mezzo-soprano vocals. The song is keyboard-driven with minor classic orchestration, but it’s nothing really special, to be honest. The second track “Martyrs And Madmen” is heavier than the previous, but follows the same tempo pattern. Juliana changes her profile into soprano as the double drum pedaling and the guitar leads add more aggression that work in favor of music diversity. On the contrary to Thomas’ statements, the composing and recording process were affected by the distance between the two musicians since the band could’ve benefited from spending additional time in the studio rehearsing — in “Fair Haven” the vocals don’t seem to fit the music as they should. Apart from that, the song is groovy and features some catchy melodies, galloping rhythm guitars, and the tactful presence of male vocals. The best track of the EP is the last one entitled “Transcending God.” It can be considered as an instrumental since Juliana implements only some high-pitched operatic wails that enhance the dark atmosphere created by the violin sounds and the mid-tempo riffing. Thomas did nice work in the production of the EP, giving it a clear and atmospheric sound although the computer processing is something more than obvious, especially in the drums.

The bottom line is that the debut Dremora release comes with some interesting ideas and melodies that need additional studio time to get into a finer form. The Thomas and Juliana alliance deserves the attention of all Metalheads who are into bands that sound like early Nightwish. Support the underground scene and click the links below to find more and listen to the entire EP.