A DREAM OF POE, is a Portugal Doom Metal band, with Gothic influences, but based in the United Kingdom. Their latest piece of music is "Wraith Uncrowned," their fourth studio release but ninth release overall, having a demo plus several EP's and live albums. Honestly, when I first heard their music I was immediately reminded of a mixture of TRISTANIA and MY DYING BRIDE.  Their sound is backed by sorrowful keys and the atmospheric itself is filled with a lot of vocals working in unison.  Spoken word, singing, low chants, even some extreme style vocals are all presented.  The guitars have that classic Gothic tinged melody like PARADISE LOST.

The first track is the intro, "Versos para O Submundo," a baroque piece of musical, very classical and refined in its presentation.  As far as intro goes, this one is very moving and actually adds something to the rest of the album instead of being filler. "Jekk Alla Jrid," is the first proper full length song and it begins with sweeping keys and some hard hitting double bass.  The vocals are layered between a lower baritone and a higher pitched clean.  The song takes on a more ominous tone over a minute in with crunchy riffs and spoken word vocals.  More of that thunderous double bass follows suite and leads the song back into the vocal chorus.  The middle portion is represented with melodic guitar riffs and a decent guitar solo that flows against the backdrop perfectly.

"In The Wake Of Forgetfulness," sounds extremely morose and tragic.  Light use of angelic vocals are sprinkled against well done death growls.  The clean keyboard section beginning at 3:38 is nothing short of astonishing, as are the clean vocals that compliment them.   The song ends on a blanket of heaviness, riffs and double bass coming together as one. "Spirits Of The Dead," is a somber track, led by a dark melodic tone that appears over a fog of distortion and deep bass drums.  I loved how the track slowly builds up until it hits the high point about halfway through the song before ending on a more quiet, ambient tone complete with clean keys and soft cleans.  The band displays a different side of themselves on this track, an emotional ride if there ever was one.

"The Bringer of Dawn," is an ominous track with a very stark atmosphere, grave vocals, and overall tone that isn't unlike a stormy night.  Some of the riffs have a Black Metal vibe to them, making the song all that more mysterious and dark. Even more so than the previous tracks, this one really nails down a Gothic Doom sound to it.  The keys at the end of the track are perfect and drive home everything I love about this album. I am kicking myself for just now discovering this band-I will no doubt be grabbing up the rest of their discography soon.  If you're a fan of Gothic and/or Doom Metal, this is an album that needs to be on your radar this year.