Dead City Dreaming is the fifth album of the Swedish band Crystal Eyes. This album too is an album with ten melodic hard rock/metal songs. The cover is a typical Crystal Eyes cover; Mathias Noren is responsible for this masterpiece. Sometimes, I really don`t like cd covers because of their format; I want back the old format of the record; you will not have to use a magnifying glass anymore.

The production is crystal clear and the sound is bright but still quite heavy. The voice of Danish vocalist Nico Adamsen is great, he has huge power but he still stays melodic; it definitely fits with the music of Crystal Eyes. The new guitar player Niclas Karlsson joined the band very late in the process of creating Dead City Dreaming so he doesn`t play anything on the album.

Crystal Eyes pretends to be a metal band but the choruses are rather commercial for this; they have quite a high sing-along level.

I think the power and the strength of the songs are negatively influenced, especially by a singer like Mathias Noren. Positive are the solos. They are powerful and fast, yet also melodic. Songs that show this power are Walls of Stars, Temples of the Immortal Shame and The Halls of Valhalla. The last one is the best song on the album, with progressive elements, great singing, riffs and guitar solos. Up-tempo songs are Battlefield and Dawn Dancer.

I think the positive elements are stronger than the negative ones, so, Dead City Dreaming will get the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, the next album will show the full strength of Crystal Eyes. If so, we will hear a lot of this band in the future!