This is a difficult one for me.

DREAMS OF VICTORY are a Progressive Symphonic Metal band from Ukraine; apparently very new and very underground, as I cannot find out anything else about them, having just released what I am assuming is their debut, and self-titled, EP. I'm very much torn, because while the musicianship, production and composition is extremely well-done, the vocals, one of the most prominent timbres in the genre, completely turn me off; no disrespect to the vocalist, of course.

"Overture" is the first track on the EP. Entirely instrumental, it was an extremely enjoyable 3 minutes. While the riffs are jarringly-heavy and the melodies proficiently technical, the soaring atmospherics and keyboard work fatten up the sound delectably and set it to greater heights. In fact, they keyboard work is my favourite thing about this track, and the album in general.

"The Patriot" begins in a different fashion, much calmer, steadier and slower-paced; quite the DREAM THEATER-like intro, a greater emphasis on meaningful and methodical, melodic passages. Alas, the vocals soon started. I have no idea what the man is trying to pull off, but the vocals run rather flat, with some changes in pitch and volume actually verging on painful; if he is trying to achieve a MANILLA ROAD approach, I'm not sure he's getting it. However, when he reaches deeper, gruffer, baritone reaches, the vocals become much more listenable and fitting to the music. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen often. Underneath all of this, however, is instrumental work ranging on virtuosic.

The band's namesake track is, thankfully, another purely instrumental piece. The Prog magic that obviously lies in this band resonates in this track, with technical mastery coming to life in beautiful, multi-layered arrangements; particularly the guitar work partway through.

I hate to throw bricks at new bands, but I sincerely hope that DREAMS OF VICTORY consider getting a new vocalist, the current one strongly considering learning proper vocals, or becoming an instrumental act altogether. Going by the first and third track, the latter is a prospect worth entertaining.