Exclusive: JACOBS DREAM Singer Talks About New Album
Singer
Chaz Bond from American power metallers
JACOBS DREAM has sent BW&BK the following synopsis of their new album, Dominion Of Darkness, which is out now via Bleeding Tree Records:
"Well since most here do not yet have the new CD I figured I would give you all the low down from my point of view. I guess we will start with the production since this seems to be such a hot topic with many of you. In my opinion I feel that this is a step forward for us. This time we left out the middle man. The guitars are heavier and louder, the bass is heavy and thick which I feel was lacking in all 3 previous records. The drums are in your face and powerful. Anyway, that is my take on the production and now on to the disk its self.
The journey begins with
'Demon World'. This song is pretty heavy for JD. It was actually supposed to be a Biogenesis song that was composed before the days of 'The Mark Bleeds Through' - ha ha now the secret is out. This song kinda sums up the over all theme of the disc. We live in a world where evil is everywhere and it lives among us and even inside of many of us. This song makes reference to prophetic scripture that warned us of the signs for us to look out for and that we can see many of those signs today.
'Can't Break' comes in with a down tuned nearly modern metal like riff. The song is again heavy for JD. I love the lyrics of this song written by
John Berry (guitar). It's basically about a person whose life is in turmoil and who attempts to hide the skeletons in their closet and tends to blame personal issues on others or their past circumstances. This song has a huge chorus that I just love.
'Curse Of Antikythera' is a plodding melodic tune with a nice rhythmic feel that is layered over with a story telling lyrical approach. The song is about an ancient device that was found in 1901. Its complexity nearly rivals today's technology. To this day there is an ongoing debate on what it was for and what it means. Many believe that it predicts the date of the end of the world and this is the premise of the lyrical concept.
'Hands Of Doom' is an instrumental with a lot to offer. Some nice JD signature riffing, some killer leads and a nice soothing acoustic breakdown.
'Don't Talk' does indeed have an odd title but in my opinion this is a great song. Yes JD has composed not one but two ballads on this record and this is one of them. I just love the melodies and lyrics. This song talks about people who say that they love someone but perhaps doesn't really know what real love actually is. Its about sacrifice and putting him/her before yourself and so much more. This song says that unless you have laid down your life for love, 'Then Don't Talk To Me About Love'!
The next song is called
'Hero'. This song is speaking directly to a man who killed a 15 year old girl in cold blooded murder and was never caught in 15 years. The saddest part of this story is that its true. The song is basically calling him a coward as the chorus states 'Where was her hero on that moon-less night? Where was her hero when she was running for her life?' One last amazing thing to mention is that on the days leading to the release of this CD it was announced that the DNA of the killer was apparently matched with a man who was already in prison! Ironically the final verse says 'Your time is drawing closer now, the death you spread will soon come for you!'
'Dark Alliance' is by far one of my favourites on this record. I love the dark music and the killer chorus. This is a fictional story of a man who was abused for years as a child and as an adult he ended up murdering his tormentor but in prison he finds some kind of peace as he makes his peace with God.
'Embraced By Sorrow' is a heart wrenching epic song lasting around eight minutes. It was originally intended for the second Biogenesis album that was never released. This one comes from the view point of a young man who lived a selfish life and is now suddenly told that he has a terminal disease and only has a short time to live. In the song he speaks of his deep regret for the way he had lived and is crushed by the fact that he will never get another chance. The chorus states 'If I had one more chance to live I'd change the things I've done. If I had one more chance to say the things I should have said. If I had one more chance to be the things I should have been. If I had one more chance to live oh what I would give.
The next one is called
'Dissolution Of Purity'. This is a mid paced melodic song starting out with probably the highest note I have ever hit in my life. This song is another one keeping with the theme of 'Demon World' as it speaks of the underlining deceit that destroys us slowly from within as it goes unnoticed beneath our nose. This song even points out a few things as an example such as Darwin's theory and so on.
Again continuing with the overall theme that we do indeed live in the dominion of darkness comes the song called
'Violent Kingdom". This is a slightly heavier song that yours truly wrote the main riffs to and oh, by the way someone many of you might recognize makes a brief appearance. I'll give you a clue. First name David. last name Taylor.....Ring a bell??
'Awaken The Man' is the records second ballad. This song is about a beautiful marriage that is based on all the things that love is supposed to be. I actually began writing the lyrics before meeting my beautiful wife but added the final touches after the wedding. The chorus says 'you awaken the man in me, the man I thought was dead you bring him to life again!'
The song
'End Of Days' is oddly about the opposite subject. In other words this is about someone who deeply misses someone from the past and regrets losing her. There are some killer riffs and guitar harmonies here. My favourite part of this song is the chorus which has two different vocal harmonies going on that create a hauntingly sorrow filled emotion.
The album closes out with another emotion filled song called
'Mercy Killing'. Jon Noble (guitar) came up with the title and eventually asked me to write the lyrics which I did so on an airplane headed for a show in Puerto Rico. this song comes from the point of view of Jesus during the time of his crucifixion according to the bible. My idea was to sum up what its really all about as many people misunderstand the meaning of Christianity. The final verse of this album sums it up well with these words. "Now I hang before them bleeding for their souls they hate me and scorn me, yet I love them so. The storm is coming soon the pain is almost through. The salvation of man shall be born! It is finished I shout with my last breath! I now have my victory I've taken the keys of death! The enemy is defeated. For those who will believe the gates of heaven are open at last!!! I close this album out by saying 'Who will follow me' as my wife appears saying in her native language, soy el camino which means 'I am the way' in Spanish."
Dominion Of Darkness features
the following tracklisting: 'Demon World', 'Can't Break', 'Curse Of Antikythera', 'Hands Of Doom', 'Don't Talk', 'Hero', 'Dark Alliance', 'Embraced By Sorrow', 'Dissolution Of Purity', 'Violent Kingdom', 'Awaken The Man', 'End Of Days', 'Mercy Killing'. Audio samples can be heard
here.
Accueil 
