"Cruciamentum" is the debut EP from ONCE UPON A DREAM, a five-piece Metalcore band with members from Greece and Germany, influenced tunes with a unique sound. The band themselves say that you will definitely hear influences from Metalcore bands such as PARKWAY DRIVE, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, ASKING ALEXANDRA, A DAY TO REMEMBER and Djent act, PERIPHERY. All these are wedded with a unique way that you will hear the band's own identity into the aggressive riffs and the vocal lines, which are influenced by WHITECHAPEL and SUICIDE SILENCE.

"Seeker" opens up this EP with a decent build-up, with a melody like many we have heard down the years from the bands mentioned above. The control seems to be well in hand from the off, limited slightly with the pace, but the tempo is still pretty high. The melodies start to build up further, expanding slightly, still holding back a bit, but maintaining control. The raw aggression from the vocals works well to add further depth to the already impressive song. This is a decent start to the album.

"Behind the Shadows" starts us off with a sample, building tension. The sound breaks into the melody of another solid effort. The pace is still limited, and the vocals in a softer way don't really come off in the same way as their aggressive other, it loses a bit of edge to the song. This is very PWD style with the build up from the guitars. The melodies hit their peak and it becomes catchy once more, building up interest. The dips in tempo are not really needed to be as drastic and altering as they seemed to have been. Again, the softer, cleaner vocals just do not hit home in the same way.

"Hollow Eyes" brings us rain and Thunder then some guitar play that sounded more like NIRVANA at the start, this section goes nowhere before the vocals kick into their aggressive gears. The tempo is set to the max for this EP and tempo has risen from the introduction of the more Drummer-friendly melody. The clean vocals return, they are more upbeat so seem better, but still, can't say I'm a fan. The tempo of the instrumental aspects takes us back to where it started, with the vocals fading out slightly, they do return with the clean vocals, but as it builds you think it could change to the aggressive side. The raw vocals are added right at the end to add depth, but changes little to the song.

"Deathwish" kicks us ff with the return if the more aggressive approach to the vocals. The tempo seems to have increased again. The song's tempo is still limited, but towards max of what the album has offered so far, it has a more Djent or ANIMALS AS LEADERS approach, minus the speed. The aggression seems to slow down, the cleaner vocals are in, but in shorter doses. The song is harder for me to get into as it doesn't really seem to do much and has no real pull towards interest.

"My Last Words" picks up the pace to max levels, speed isn't Thrash speed, but this not bad for this material. The build-up promises a lot. The control and balance are here, the pace is trying, but keeps slowing down to go clean vocals, my issue is this is causing me to switch off along with the tempo. Again, the promise of pace tries to pick up the song, but it is never given enough of a chance, the instrumental isn't bad at all, it's just nothing special.

This is so mid 00's as far as Metalcore sound goes, but it pulls out all the tricks and is executed so well. 10-15 years ago, these guys would have been a name mentioned with great Metalcore other bands, but like so many others they don't seem to be as heavy and directed towards the ends as the start, no need for me to mention names here.