The American band SUMERLANDS comes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has been going since 2014, and after their debut album "Sumerlands", which they released in 2016, they have finally decided to release album number two, naming it "Dreamkiller". If you want to find out what kind of music they play, I can be quite straight forward. it is Melodic Heavy Metal. This is like going on a time travel discovery of the history of Heavy Metal.

The songs on "Dreamkiller" all are in very good nick, have a proper build and will have your head nodding along in no time. That's how easy they will enter your subconscious. At the same time, they will remind you of a band of the past. Just an example; "Heavens Above" sounds like a mix between DOKKEN and THE SCORPIONS, due to how the riffs sound in combination with the way the voice sounds. Actually, those are the bands I think of, but you might hear other ones. Singer Brendan Radigan does a good job, and could have been the product of a pairing between Don Dokken and Klaus Meine. (If you're visualising this image now, I'm sorry!)

This is something that will happen all through the album, making you wonder how much of the music of SUMERLANDS has been thought out by themselves, and what percentage they decided to loan from their peers. There's nothing wrong with doing the latter, but you really do need to be careful and not make it too obvious. Look, I could be wrong, meaning that the band only realised that the similarities with the Melodic Metal bands of the eighties is so imminent when they finished recording "Dreamkiller".

It doesn't matter, as what SUMERLANDS is dishing up is very pleasant, almost easy listening. Plus, they do know how to write a proper power ballad, as "Night Ride" is precisely that what you envision. Powerful, emotional and intriguing at the same time. This would have been a Top 40 hit in the eighties, no doubt. So, there you have it, SUMERLANDS have decided to let us enjoy "Dreamkiller" to our hearts content. I for one am glad they did, as this is quite good stuff. The only way they could have gotten higher ratings from me is by making sure the references to the bands mentioned. But that's not to say I'm not enjoying SUMERLANDS on this "Dreamkiller" album, because I really am!