I said then when I briefly talked about my top 5 list from last year, but today’s review is of an album that came practically out of nowhere for pretty much everybody. An album who’s band members (More on that in a moment) were highly mysterious, and despite the single or two that came out, nobody knew anything about the record in question. Cut to the 1st of November last year, and one of the biggest offerings & tributes to one of the biggest icons in Gothic Metal to have ever been made. A tribute that actually tugs at my heartstrings, and left me a little misty-eyed. So, get out any leftover Halloween candy you might have left, turn down the lights to low, and enjoy my review for Neon Nightmare’s first release, Faded Dream. Let’s begin.
Background
It’s genuinely difficult to find any background on this album, along with the mysterious frontman of the band....or so we thought. Cut to a few months after it came out (I believe it was a few months), and we got a reveal of the mastermind behind the whole thing: Nate Garrett. Not just the singer, but he was also the drummer, keyboardist, and bassist, Nate had prior musical experience in the band Spirit Adrift, which he had also started. As for what we do know about the album’s background and descriptor, the Bandcamp page as this to say:
“Born out of the elemental primordium contained in heavy metal’s working class roots, from the war-scarred industrial landscapes of Birmingham to the beat up bars and basements of Brooklyn, Neon Nightmare arrive like a ghost in the night to carry on the tradition. Troubled music for troubled people. And though there’s nothing new under the sun, in the shadows there may yet be a chance, and it is in the shadows where ‘Faded Dream’ was shaped out of shimmering steel.
The title says it all, with ‘Faded Dream’ Neon Nightmare’s debut album is a synthesis of emotional peaks and valleys and dark brooding atmosphere, evoking a longing angst for a past once colored by adolescent excitement and wonder. Utilizing a foundation of big riffs, crushing studio production immersed in technicolor fantasy and psychedelic ornamentation, and a dramatic vocalist able to smoothly swing from a spooky gothic baritone to soaring heavy metal melodicism, ‘Faded Dream’ is the crossroads where Doom, Psych, Shoegaze and Alternative Metal all intersect in a way not heard in years.
A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it but unmistakable deadpan satirical strain also runs through ‘Faded Dream’ as Neon Nightmare cleverly avoid the overtly sad-sack whimsy and self-serious mopery of the standard “metal band with goth tendencies” milieu. For all its genuine foreboding and confrontation with real depression, ‘Faded Dream’ never loses itself in the mire or gives up on its predilection for thrill-seeking amusements and sanguine fascination. The sounds conjured have lived in many momentous forms throughout the decades of heavy metal history, and Neon Nightmare are here to continue the cycle.”
The album would be release on the 1st of November in 2024, and the reception was quite positive on many review sites.
Basic Description
Pete’s Ghost Is Still Haunting Us.
Ever since Pete Steele passed away over 15 years ago (That made my bones ached), the bleeding hole where our hearts were still aches. Type-O Negative at some point in their career reflected something in our soul, and somehow brought some kind of joy into our lives. In the over decade & a half since Pete's death, there have only be a tiny pinch of musicians that have managed to even remotely take up the mantle. Corey Tourigny was one of the first, then we had A Pale Horse Named Death, the monolith that is October Noir, and even musical Youtubers like Anthony Vincent & Denis Pauna managed to get in on the action! However, with Dream Faded I think we have the first time a musical act truly captures the essence & soul of the Green Man so perfectly. Even then, this album folds in a few different things to make it something unique, and not just a carbon copy of the boys from Brooklyn. We will never have Pete crawl out of his grave, but it is nice to know that there are still musicians out there that understand the significance of Peter Thomas Ratajczyk.....and the legacy he left behind.
Best Track
This was...difficult. There’s not many albums I’ve ever listened to in the near 4 decades I’ve been on this planet that I consider perfect, but throw Faded Dream onto that pile everybody. Practically every single song on this album can be considered to be the best track. Hell, even the joke opening soundscape Higher Calling is surprisingly entertaining. However, if I wanted to pick my favorite track of the album, then the cleverly named LATW2TG is just perfect. Reminiscent of material from the Dead Again era of Type-O Negative, you have instrumentals similar to what you would hear on An Ode To Locksmiths, but the vibes are like that you would feel in September Sun. Mildly more lighthearted, but still very powerful & very emotional. Though I would have liked this song to have been the concluding track, it’s position about halfway through the album means I don’t have to wait that long to get to it.
LATW2TG
Worst Track
The fact that this sprung practically out of nowhere was this album’s biggest fault. I didn’t even know there were singles out for the release until after I discovered this record, though there were definitely some people that did. Not only that, but Nate Garrett keeping his identity a secret until he wasn’t able to seemed silly to me. He’s pretty damn talented, not just in Neon Nightmare, but in his prior band Spirit Adrift. To play devil’s advocate, I assume he did this so people focused on the music instead of him, which I can respect.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
Faded Dream
Overall Impression & Rating
Faded Dream, as I said before, was a surprise that came out of nowhere, and hit anyone that listened right in the feels. Sure, I think it was a little goofy that Nate Garrett hid his identity until he couldn’t, but in an odd way that meant we paid full attention to the music, and nothing else. In that case, this tribute to Pete & the rest of Type-O Negative was nothing short of phenominal. From beginning to end, you have all of the things that made the boys from Brooklyn legends, yet there’s a few things that were thrown in to make it it’s own thing as well. Over 15 years later, and there’s people that haven’t forgotten you Green Man. Not now.....Not ever.
Faded Dream gets an 8 out of 10, but I enjoyed it as if it was a perfect 10.
And that was my look at Faded Dream. Surprising & wonderful in equal measure, it managed to capture the spirit of the Green Man without being a carbon copy. For any fan of Type-O Negative, this album will heal your heart....if only for a bit. So, join me on the last day of this month, when I will look at an absolute beast of an album from legends that are a little over half a century in age. Until they, make sure your dreams never fade.
***
If you want to support Neon Nightmare, then click on the link below:
Neon Nightmare (Bandcamp)
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