| Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Sabbat | ||||
| Released | 15 May 1989 | |||
| Recorded | January–March 1989 | |||
| Studio | Sky Trak Studio, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal, progressive metal | |||
| Length | 44:05 | |||
| Label | Noise | |||
| Producer | Roy M. Rowland, Karl-Ulrich Walterbach | |||
| Sabbat chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10 [2] |
| Kerrang! | |
| Metal Hammer | (10/10)[ citation needed ] |
| Rock Sound | (10/10)[ citation needed ] |
| Time Out (New York) | |
Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) is the second full-length album by the British thrash metal band Sabbat, released in 1989
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. The lyrics often deal with social issues and criticism of The Establishment, using direct and denunciatory language, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
Sabbat were a thrash metal band from Nottingham, England, consisting of Martin Walkyier (vocals), Andy Sneap (guitars), Simon Jones (guitars), Gizz Butt (bass) and Simon Negus (drums). Over 6 years Sabbat released three studio albums, four demos, two split singles/compilation albums, two singles and a live VHS. In 1988, the band released their debut album History of a Time to Come, which earned them further recognition. Their next album, Dreamweaver (1989) was also critically acclaimed. Shortly after the release of Mourning Has Broken (1991), tensions with the band began to surface, most of them revolved around money. This resulted in Sabbat breaking up. After an attempted reunion in 2001, which was blocked by Sneap, the original Sabbat lineup reunited in 2006, and in December of that year, performed together for the first time in sixteen years at five different venues in England, one a warm up gig in Nottingham, the other four in support of Cradle Of Filth. The band had continued to perform at many live venues and festivals around the world since then, but did not release any new material. Andy Sneap confirmed in a January 2014 interview with Decibel magazine that Sabbat had once again split up.
Contents
- The Story of Dreamweaver
- "The Clerical Conspiracy"
- "Advent of Insanity"
- "Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?"
- "The Best of Enemies"
- "How Have the Mighty Fallen?"
- "Wildfire"
- "Mythistory"
- Track listing
- 2007 re-release
- Personnel
- References
Dreamweaver is a concept album based on the 1983 book by British psychologist Brian Bates - The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer. [3] [4] The album demonstrated singer and lyricist Martin Walkyier's deep held beliefs in Wyrdism, Anglo-Saxon spirituality, Celtic mysticism and paganism. Musically the album reflected composer Andy Sneap's predilection at that time for increasingly lengthy and progressively technical thrash metal songs. Shortly before the album was recorded, former Holosade guitarist Simon Jones was recruited into the band as an additional lead and rhythm guitarist.
A concept album is an album in which its tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Sometimes the term is applied to albums considered to be of "uniform excellence" rather than an LP with an explicit musical or lyrical motif. There is no consensus among music critics as to the specific criteria for what a "concept album" is.
Brian Bates is former Chairman of Psychology at the University of Sussex. He is currently a Senior Visiting Research Fellow there in the Sussex Institute and a Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton. He is best known as the author of best-selling books on the shamanic wisdom of Anglo-Saxon England, and for his award-winning course at Sussex on "Shamanic Consciousness". He is also an authority on the psychology of actors, teaching and directing for ten years at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Martin Walkyier is an English singer known for his bands Sabbat and Skyclad and for his lyrics. Metal Hammer journalist, the late Detlef Dengler, called Walkyier a "great lyricist" known for his multitude of words and "brilliant puns"; yet Walkyier was never asked to write lyrics for other bands, "unfortunately", as he says. Author Paul Stenning has referred to Walkyier as a "lyrical genius".
The album has come to be regarded as a classic of the thrash metal genre, described variously upon its re-release in 2007 as "essential listening" ( Rock Sound ), a "staggering work of total excellence" ( Kerrang! ), a "seminal chapter in the evolution of British metal" and one of the "finest metal albums ever made" ( Metal Hammer ).
Rock Sound is a British magazine which covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to more well-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, emo, hardcore, heavy metal and extreme metal genres of rock music, rarely covering indie rock music at all. The tag-line "For those who like their music loud, extreme and non-conformist" is sometimes used. Although primarily aimed at the British market, the magazine is also sold in Australia, Canada and the United States.
Kerrang! is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock music and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent. It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper. Named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar, Kerrang! was initially devoted to the new wave of British heavy metal and the rise of hard rock acts. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music weekly.
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal and rock music magazine, published in the United Kingdom by Future and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music.
