DreamSpy – Out Of This World
DreamSpy is a solo project from Finnish bassist/vocalist Anssi Tamminen. Out Of This World is the second release and is an experimental album. There are no guitars, but electronic double bass creates a very different sonic experience in the Hard Rock/Electro Rock realm. Focused on musically and lyrically dark tones and themes, it is vastly different from what you’re used to. There are influences from Techno and Electronic music, but those are elements of Hard Rock and Electronic/Industrial music that build the foundation of this project.
Band Members:
- Anssi Tamminen – Vocals/All Instruments
March 31, 2023 – Inverse Records https://www.inverse.fi
Tracklist:
- The Chosen One
- Time To Die
- Fire
- Outside
- Part Steel, Part Human
- A Lighthouse
- Through The Dark Days
- Dead Autumn Leaves
The album opens with a Techno flourish and Industrial undertones. Interestingly, there are no guitars on this record. Instead, we get electrified double bass, giving the tones a very different feel. “The Chosen One” has dark tones driven by the double bass. The sound is heavy and ominous but not so dark that it takes the song too far down.
“Time To Die” does go there. The opening is deeply unsettling in its’ feel and texture. You get a nice, chugging riff for the verses and a more melodic style for the chorus. The tempo and overall sound are firmly in the Hard Rock category but beautifully skirt close enough to the Metal realm that it feels like it could step over at any moment. Most of the album lives here, teasing a heavier style, but never entirely giving you that last little bit.
Gritty vocals start “Outside,” followed by dark, heavy bass tones. As heavy as Apocalyptica can get, the use of an electrified double bass goes darker, deeper into the low-end tones. Some ethereal, haunting keyboards offset those dark tones in this song. Bob Daisley would be proud of the keyboards in this track. On this one, Anssi shows a good bit of his vocal range, hitting some excellent belted notes throughout.
For a shift in style, “Part Steel, Part Human” takes on an 80 Synth/New Wave/Pop sound at the beginning, only to shift to a heavier style after the verse and into the pre-chorus/chorus segment. This is followed by some of the heaviest tones on the record to open “A Lighthouse.” This track lightens up for the chorus, going in the opposite direction as the previous track. The ability to go from one style to another is prevalent on the entire album, showing a distinct compositional skill.
The album concludes with “Dead Autumn Leaves,” a haunting song with a Sludge tempo from the opening. The intensity builds, getting darker and heavier, turning into an almost ghostly Power Ballad. So much of this album has a haunted, macabre quality, taking the Dark Rock genre to new heights. Removing the guitar as a primary instrument is bold. Anssi pulls it off using the electric double bass to add extra tone and texture to the parts customarily reserved for the guitar. The album is a challenge to the establishment while maintaining a straightforward Rock attitude.
MZ Ratings:
- Musicianship
- Guitars – 9
- Rhythms – 9
- Vocals – 8
- Songwriting – 9
- Production – 8
- Overall – 8.60
