Lucid Dreams-Lucid Dreams

Rockworks Records
2013

Lucid Dreams, who hail from Oslo, Norway, just recently released this, their self-titled debut CD. Formed in 2007 by Silvester Pozarnik, Rune Hagen and Rune Gutuen (the album's engineer and producer), this 12-track album showcases a band that has managed to fuse AOR, hard rock, heavy metal and progressive metal together into something special all while basking in the glory of pure rock and roll! Sounds weird right? Almost like there is no way in the world it would work or that this six-piece band would be capable of pulling it off. And yet here I am playing witness to a band that echos everyone from Whitesnake (thanks to the sometimes quite slick lead vocals ex-Trendkiller/ex-Mudslide member Freddy Vain-try on "Daisy Dukes" and you'll hear it for yourself!) and Bon Jovi to Dio, Queensrÿche, Dream Theatre, (early) Steeler and even Saxon! In a way Lucid Dreams reminds me of a more flushed-out, progressive metal-minded version of Italy's Dangerzone. And that's a very good thing indeed. While Freddy Vain can pull off a number like "Daisy Dukes" he also can pull off a number like "Stormy" which requires him to channel the spirit of the late great Ronnie James Dio! Such range allows Lucid Dreams to move in and out of different with ease and make "Lucid Dreams" a fantastic listen! Of course helping that cause out is a backing band that, to put it bluntly, fucking slays! Guitarists Rune Gutuen and Ådne Olastuen simply excel while the rest of the band (bassist Jan-Erik Lysø, keyboardist Thorleif Østmoe (who contacted Metal Mark about reviewing this album and thus turned me onto a cool, as in the Fonz cool folks, 12 track release with such smashing good songs as "Daisy Dukes", "Stormy", "Take Me Away" and "Paranoia") and drummer Rune Hagen) makes it all sound so easy! Of curse when you consider the fact that Lucid Dreams is made up of a group of musicians who have more them paid their dues (read: there is a lot of experience packed within the pages of Lucid Dreams) it makes sense that a group like Lucid Dreams sounds so fluid. Albums like this one are the reason I love writing for this blog. Chances are that without Heavy Metal Time Machine I wouldn't have had the pleasure of hearing this release. I mean it's not as if Oslo, Norway is right next door to Ohio, U.S.A. or anything! But thanks to this blog (and well, Al Gore's Internet!) I get to hear a cool album like this and then share it with all of you! Lucid Dreams are very much a band that embraces the theory that you can cook up really heavy tracks like "Paranoia", which really borders on power metal,  and yet still rock out like crazy! And it's all good. It's like there is plenty of love to go around and it's alright if you're (musically) into bands as diverse as Whitesnake and Iron Maiden (another band that, along with everyone from the Scorpions to Yngwie J. Malmsteen to 80's era Judas Priest!, figures into the sound of Lucid Dreams). Hopefully it doesn't  sound as if I'm over-hyping this 12 track album, but the diversity present on "Lucid Dreams" and the overflowing energy that this band exhibits is just fantastic and really has to be heard to be truly appreciated!

Want more info? Of course you do! So, either head here: www.luciddreamsband.com
or head here: www.facebook.com/LucidDreamsRocks