Review Summary: The mind bears down upon itself.
Dreaming of Sleep is the 3rd full-length release from Tetrafusion, a Shreveport, Louisiana 4-piece progressive metal outlet that features ex-Scale the Summit members. Their last effort, Horizons EP, was released more than 5 years ago, and so Dreaming of Sleep can be viewed as a reestablishment of sorts.
This is an album that invites you into the psyche of someone who appears to be trapped within the boundaries of their tormented existence. Visitors will be set on a mid-tempo trek whilst flanked by angular-sounding guitars. The spacious production feels chilly, almost synthetic; eerie electronic elements are prevalent throughout. I do wish that Tetrafusion were weighed down less by their ambition regarding song lengths; too often do they trail off with some extraneous ambient passage. Furthermore, the quirky jazz sections start feeling overused towards the end of the album. The seamless transitions, as well as the overall flow, from track to track cannot be denied though.
I also take issue with the suppressed vocals, buried relatively low in the mix. Firstly, Gary Tubb’s delivery is already fairly restrained. The application of a layering effect only obscures his vocals and further diminishes their impact. While they never come across as off-putting, they do not deliver much catharsis nor presence. It is a stylistic aspect that will not offend, but will also not impress many. However, “Sisyphus” does buck this trend in its pared-down first verse; it is here that the singing is truly emotive, indeed quite beautiful.
This album isn’t nearly as bleak and boring as I might be making it seem. What Tetrafusion do succeed at is having the music vividly convey the imagery of the lyrics. The riffs of “Echo Chamber” roar with contempt at the intentionally ignorant; “The Void” is a dizzying waltz through one’s stream of consciousness. Certainly, this thematic coherence is one of the strong suits of Dreaming of Sleep. At least lyrically, there is a narrative continuity from beginning to end. I’ll go a little further and say that while Dreaming of Sleep may get bloated, it never actually trudges. Enough action and development goes on within the songs to keep me reasonably attentive, and no band that identifies as progressive would be ashamed to have the level of technical proficiency shown by Tetrafusion. Dreaming of Sleep does suggest that they are more dependent on paced progression and atmosphere than on flashy displays, though there’s no lack of runs for the instruments to stand out.
Cut through the gristle and you’ll find the brain. The forest of neurons is dense, but within lurks light nonetheless.
