Artwork by Gaia Cafiso
Style: Power Metal, Prog Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Unleash the Archers, Epica, Stratovarius
Country: United States, Wisconsin
Release date: 31 January 2025
It’s been a while since I’ve been so torn on my final judgment of a metal release. On one hand, the Queen of Dreams sophomore album, Subnivium, accounts for many of the sonic shortcomings (particularly being disjointed and having a muddy production job) of their debut album while tightening up their songwriting and aesthetic styles. But on the other hand, the band may have overcorrected for their previous criticisms, leading to an over-produced, homogenous follow-up. While Subnivium showcases many dimensions of competency, it also lacks the secret sauces, innovation and passion, which listeners expect from works that are not merely good, but groundbreaking. I particularly care much more about a band experimenting and delivering music through sincere, artistic desire rather than turning in an assignment that feels like a final exam in a music theory course. Subnivium feels like it landed somewhere in between the two.
The album’s intended style is present at the gates: Vocal-forward, melodic power metal with a small amount of progressive songwriting elements thrown in to add a hint of sophistication to the music’s trimmings—placing itself somewhere in between Epica and Unleash the Archers. Queen of Dreams occasionally partakes in a mix of screams and growls, however fleeting and sparingly. One will also notice that the band members have incredible harmony with one another, performing in a peculiarly unified whole—consequently, for better or worse, most of their songs sound extremely similar.
Additionally, one will hear the particular sharp and punchy production job crafted masterfully by Alex Parra at Second Sight Sound. This studio is also responsible for the recent Arch Enemy and Evergrey albums, and for those who are familiar, the hard-hitting rhythm sections and blasting distortions from those are similarly employed in Subnivium; albeit they glossed the synths, lead guitars, and vocals to sound a bit prettier and more colorful. From a technical angle, the album generally sounds quite good and the notes all pop distinctly—it’s as clean as a marbled granite countertop. Though, almost all of the songs are written to showcase melody and bright soundscapes, the production job best complements the songs with the hookiest melodies, such as “Radiant” and “Shield Anvil.”
I find it helpful to distinguish between horizontal and vertical listening experiences: horizontally, we’re able to pick up on how music sounds in single moments, oftentimes more represented by scattershot listens, skipping around and hearing a couple seconds of tracks more or less at random, or by paying close attention to some smaller interval; while the vertical experience demonstrates more of an invested listen from front to back, immersing in the way an album develops over time, analysing its exploration of ebb-and-flow and oscillating dynamics.
In this sense, Subnivium sounds great horizontally since one is treated with mouthfuls of gorgeous guitar and synth solos, often harmonizing, and a talented vocalist who contrasts her powerful cadence with the energetic, crunchy rhythm section. However, after a while, the band will appear to know only one pace, one tone, one tempo, and it becomes easy to feel oversaturated with the cloying and repetitive delivery. This is the primary reason that I believe this album will get underrated in end-of-the-year rankings lists. To many, this is a serious downfall—especially in the world of progressive music, people usually do not like hearing the same thing over and over.
Subnivium’s lack of variety is why I particularly appreciate the scattered bits of songwriting diversity we do get from the band. For example, “Kiln the Forgotten Flame” is a beautifully crafted and performed instrumental that gives us a short break from the endless choruses. The little fake-out ending around three and a half minutes into “Radiant” is a playful touch that breaks up the monotony. Other small elements, like the occasional distant harsh vocals, random bass solos, sentimental piano outros, or the attempt at a longer track as a closer, are moments I’d like Queen of Dreams to get more comfortable with.
Overall, despite my main criticism, Subnivium is a fairly successful effort from the band—particularly since they are still early in their career. Queen of Dreams corrected the occasional feeling of disjointedness from their debut and integrated a clean, professional production job. They’re undoubtedly a band comprised of skilled musicians. However, if they are to jump from just a decent band to an amazing one, they are going to need to look at different sources of inspiration: bands that can build on the dynamics of songs to deliver more sublime kinds of experiences rather than simply delivering verses, choruses, and riffs for the sake of filling empty space. We have a solid foundation here; now it’s up to the band to determine what else they can do with it. It is still not too late to avoid being pigeon-holed into a legacy of predictability.
Recommended tracks: Radiant, Shield Anvil, Kiln the Forgotten Flame
You may also like: Helion Prime, Triosphere, Empress, Dawn of Destiny
Final verdict: 6.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Queen of Dreams is:
– Ally Scott (keyboards)
– Caleb Scott (guitar, backing vocals)
– Dan Love (drums)
– Lnz Prazak (vocals)
– Tom Brown (guitar)
– Sky Talbott-Settle (bass)
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