France’s Nightmare is a band I sadly have not heard of until I received this album in the mail to review. This seems strange because I love the type of metal they play, and supposedly they formed in 1979 with their first album being released I 1984. After dong some research, I found that Nightmare broke up in 1987 to reform in 1999. Since then they have opened for Blind Guardian and appeared at Waken. They even got their start opening for Def Leppard in 1983, so again, I ask myself what took me so long to hear of them? Maybe because they are from France? Oh well, all that matters now is that I have because “The Dominion Gate” is a darn good album
The music is great traditional heavy metal. Some people might right them off as power metal, but that is BS. The vocalist is in a nice baritone range, and the music provides some good thrash riffs here and there. You can tell this band was active in the 1980’s because the rock’ n’ roll attitude comes through in some of these songs. They remind me of Angel Dust in this way. This is no frills metal, with just enough interesting concepts to set them apart. On this album you will hear a female voice used rarely, but very fittingly. There is also a choir that does some background vocals that make a couple of the songs the best on this disc, especially the song ‘Heretic’.
I guess I just love “The Dominion Gate” because it brings out the nostalgia in me. I can just see these songs being played, and everyone, just head-banging and air-guitaring instead of moshing and slam dancing. The vocalist at times reminds be just a bit of Ronnie James Dio mixed with someone else I can’t put my finger on. Supposedly he was the drummer for the band before they broke up. It’s a good thing he put down the sticks, because his voice is great and it would be a shame to waste his talent. The guitarists and drummer, while not doing anything new or amazing to hear, do a very solid job in keeping the riffs solid and fun to listen to. There might be just a touch of keyboard in here, for a bit of texture during choruses and effects, but in no way is this a keyboard heavy band like the previously mentioned Angel Dust.
As far as the extras go on this album, there is nothing left to be desired. The production is nice and clear. All instruments are audible which is all you can ask for. The cover is very cool as well. We see a Greek-like mythological character standing in front of a city holding up a light atop a pile of bones. It just looks really well done.
At one hour and five minutes playing time, this album has a whole lot to digest. And this is where my main problem is. I think the band could have easily focused on 10 songs instead of 13 and whittled it down to a good 50 minutes of pure metal. The last song is a good example of this. ‘K-141’ seems like filler, and being at the end of the album, instead of leaving you wanting more, you feel like you have had your fill of Nightmare for a while.
I highly suggest this album to anyone who loves bands like Angel Dust, Jag Panzer or even Iced Earth. It accomplishes exactly what it wanted, which is make you bang your head and sing along to some anthem-like material.
