Hailing from Scotland, we present Desolate Dreams. This instrumental progressive metal act is largely a solo project powered by the beastly Jake Woodward with support from Ronnie Woodward. Brothers in metal \m/ Or at least I’m presuming they’re brothers. Desolate Dreams packs a punch with similarities to bands such Dream Theater and our friends in Water’s Edge while having a sound of it’s own. The debut self-titled EP was released earlier this year and Jake is looking to show his hard work. But is “Desolate Dreams” worth your attention?
YES! Anyone who appreciates great instrumental jams and creativity should be on this immediately. This is musical ride from start to finish, bringing good melody, taste, thought, ambience, and a progressive metal edge all together for the trip. Jake’s composition is great, verging on brilliant at times. With a sweet guitar tone and a good head on his shoulders, there is good potential here.
The EP is essentially composed of three main tracks (epics if you prefer) and four support tracks (the longest being 3 minutes). All seven tracks on the release have something awesome going on. My personal favorites would have to be the epics, “I’m On A Boat” (not related to The Lonely Island), stand out track “The Chinese Garden” (with a keyboard solo from Ben Eames), and the inspiring “Tempest”. Other stand outs include “The Spider’s Nest” with it’s awesome closing guitar solo and “ffopir!” (best title ever?) closing out the release with some incredible music. But like I said, every track has some next level stuff going on.
This is really a solid effort from beginning to end. I have no real criticisms here. Like I said, Jake Woodward has some serious potential with his guitar. However, I believe the “Desolate Dreams” EP is only the beginning and he has yet to tap his full potential as a musical artist. Definitely gives my ears something to look forward to.
To sum things up, “Desolate Dreams” is an awesome release filled with serious ear candy. Prog heads and instrumental fiends alike should definitely check this one out. I applaud Jake Woodward on his effort and look forward to hearing his future music. You can sample the tracks above, and if you enjoy what you hear be sure support Desolate Dreams with a purchase on Bandcamp!
