Album: Drama of the Ages

Artist: Jacob’s Dream

Label: Metal Blade

Category: Progressive Metal

Tracks: 14

Total time: 70:54 

Ohio-based band Jacob’s Dream has made their name known on the metal scene as a band that has faithfully stayed true to the roots of what would today be deemed as “power” or “progressive” metal. Reminiscent in sound of classic Iron Maiden and Queensryche, composing lyrics with a spiritual twist, Jacob’s Dream has found a following among fans of this genre of metal music. With lyrics that tell tales of Biblical legends and copious thanks to their savior in their liner notes, these metalheads with meaning made themselves known at the beginning of the millennium with their self-titled debut album in 2000. A year later was the follow-up Theater of War, and after that…nothing. Like many of the other bands I have reviewed who have taken a long time between albums, Jacob’s Dream also can account to where they’ve been and why they took so long to get here.

Jacob’s Dream has endured line-up changes since 2001’s Theater of War; some original bandmembers from the first album returned to the band permanently, but the most dramatic and most noticeable change was the departure of singer David Taylor in October of 2003. It was a mutual split; Taylor had a family he needed to support and music was not the most stable career for him at that time. Left without his distinctive voice, the band scrambled to look for a replacement. But it would not be easy, and it would not be without adversity.

A replacement frontman was found soon after, but tragically, he would die in an automobile accident before he would ever sing a note as David Taylor’s replacement. The remaining members of Jacob’s Dream would have to start all over again. But this time they would not have to look very far. Chaz Bond, singer of Biogenesis, a band that toured with Jacob’s Dream, would come in to fill the void. He became an official member of the band in 2004, and the band went to work on the long-awaited follow-up to Theater of War.

Upon Chaz’s addition to the band, the band would come full circle. As if to show indication that indeed the parting of ways with their former singer had no animosity, and to show that there are always possibilities of reconciliation, Taylor reunited with the members of Jacob’s Dream onstage in late 2004 at a September 11^th tribute concert, where the old and new vocalist would duet on the “Theater of War” song together. Because of Chaz’s commitment to his new band, he would have to make a decision as to which road he would follow, and made the decision to break up his band Biogenesis in April of 2005. All loose ends appeared to be tied up nicely, and Jacob’s Dream could move on unreservedly towards their future.

Along with a new member came a new sound, and Bond would be put to the test as to whether or not vocally he would be deemed a worthy replacement for Taylor. For the fans that heard the memorable onstage duet between the two singers, there was no question. For the rest of us who would have to wait for a studio album to get our chance to decide, we would have to wait just a little longer. On May 3^rd, 2005, Drama of the Ages was released to the world, chronicling a new chapter in the history of Jacob’s Dream that took many years to write.

Fast-paced keyboards kick off the title track of the album, “Drama of the Ages”. The familiar power chords that make up Jacob’s Dream shine through in the guitar playing of John Berry and Jon Noble. Chaz Bond’s voice comes in about a minute into the song. This is definitely not David Taylor; his voice sounds like a lower-pitched Bruce Dickinson (his voice has also been likened by some to Matt Barlow of Iced Earth, but as I don’t know their material too well I cannot second this opinion). His voice is much more gritty and raw than the higher-pitched and much more polished voice of Taylor. Jacob’s Dream as a whole has toned down the music a bit to fit this new vocal style. A ripping solo in the middle, however, to prove that they have not slowed down or changed their sound so dramatically that older fans can’t recognize them. Bond lets off a high-pitched scream towards the end of the song to show that he is capable of hitting a high note here and there.

Aggressively melodic guitars and another high vocal from Chaz start the second song, “Keeper of the Crown”. The guitars here are much more akin to the earlier Jacob’s Dream material. Dramatic keyboards make way for a guitar solo in the middle of the song, the faster it goes, the more commanding the drums become. Chaz returns to his vocal, but has not seemed to change in pace or feel much. At least on this song, his vocals do not seem to do much justice to the music. It’s almost like musically, they deserved better singing on that one. A sort of growling vocal at the end, then the song closes.

Gentle piano, dark keyboards, and gloomy vocals open up “Spinning Leaf”, the third song. This is a mid-tempo song; originally it was written for Bond’s former band Biogenesis but it never materialized within that band so it was carried over to the new Jacob’s Dream material. Chaz’s voice is almost chant-like in the chorus, with crunchy guitars backing him up. Yet again he lets off a high-pitched scream at the end of the song, but it is becoming apparent now that these will be few and far between, and not to expect too much of it.

Both heavy and harmonious guitar work compliment one another on track four, “Stand or Fall”. The guitars are definitely the centerpiece of this song. Chaz compliments these well with his vocals, his voice is strong, and shows as much by belting out a few memorable notes during the chorus, most especially towards the end where he again displays his more growly sound.

Drums and guitar lead the way for “Tempest”, the fifth song. Lyrically, this song tackles the age-old angels and devils within us all that are constantly battling for supremacy of our actions. This is only apparent in Bond’s changing voice; the tortured vocal torment of the side of him that does not want to give in to temptation, and the sinister, growling tone of the side that tries to convince his other half that his God is not listening and “maybe he’s laughing”. Up until this point Bond’s vocal style did not wander too far or experiment much; this is the first song where he actually seems a little daring and plays with the different aspects of his vocal range.

Once again, the fusion of heavy riffs and melodic chords that is Jacob’s Dream are prominent on track six, “Third Way”. Bond’s deeper pitch voice is at the forefront here. Fast drums and guitars make up the solo on this song. Chaz returns with his growly voice, which suits the lightning pace of this song quite well. He lets off another growling vocal as the song comes to an abrupt end.

Guitars and drums reminiscent of early Stratovarius open up the seventh song, “Forever Winter”. This jam goes on for a little while and is actually quite enjoyable to listen to. Soaring guitars, drums that get around all over the place, heart-thumping bass…it’s a trademark Jacob’s Dream jam, all right. Just as you are about to think that this song is an instrumental, Bond’s voice comes in. His vocals are OK, but the band is playing much better than he is singing, I think, on this song. The song ends transitionally into the next one…

Lovely acoustic guitars and dark vocals lead the way to heavy guitars, which meet up again with the acoustics to make for a lovely fusion on track eight, “Drowning Man”. The beautiful guitar work here easily makes it my favorite song on the album. Bond’s creepy voice makes a return on this song, and then another kick-ass instrumental jam. Again, this song ends in a segue-way to the next one…

“Deceiver of the Nations” is a heavy song with yet another great band jam that brings in Bond’s vocals. His growly voice is really intense on this track. Lyrically this recants a Biblical tale, the lyrics taking us visually to old Jerusalem; to battles won and lost all for the same cause. Bond’s “evil voice” gives further strength and feeling to the narrative. An emotional guitar solo to compliment this, and then more of Bond’s snarl before returning to his singing voice. Good backing vocals by James Evans, John Berry, and Jon Noble here, and then the song ends shortly after.

Echoing guitars begin the tenth track, “Cutting Words”, starting off a little heavy and then mellowing down a little, making Bond sound a little awkward when he comes in at first. Then the music switches back to a heavier pace, then back again to the relaxed tone. This switch-off continues for a little while, Bond’s voice remaining the same between changes, with a ripping solo somewhere between all this. The switching of fast to slow and back again is basically the foundation of this song. Guitar parts reminiscent of Mindcrime-era Queensryche take the last heavy part into the final transition of melody; Bond’s rich, deep voice, ending the song.

Towering guitars and vocals launch “Victory”, the eleventh track of the album. One of the heavier songs on the album, the guitar work is quite domineering here. Yet another song where I am not paying much attention to Chaz’s vocals as much as I am the musicianship of the band. Probably my second-favorite song on the CD. Lyrically, the song appears to speak of how this band is grateful to their God for their talent, and will always play for His sake, not “for silver and gold…no sell-out, no compromise”. It is certainly a song that lets everyone know that in spite of all their changes, they are still Jacob’s Dream and their priorities have never changed, even if their sound has. Bond lets out a fantastic Halford-esque scream as the song comes to a close.

“At the Gates” begins with guitars and noises that sound like broken glass and other indications of bustling around. Those sounds fade away as the guitars and drums kick into a jam of power-chord goodness! The guitars and drums are quick yet melodic, heavy yet coherent. Chaz joins them shortly after, seemingly singing lyrics to those who have departed, and “may we meet once again in the kingdom in the sky”. Great guitar riffs throughout the song, building to a blistering guitar and bass combo-solo. Another favorite of mine on the album. Bond sings once again his hope of meeting those they have lost, and the final note fades off as the band takes over and finishes up. This is a great closer to the album, because technically it is supposed to be the last song. However, every band is capable of surprise and Jacob’s Dream is no exception…

Track thirteen is nothing more than a “minute of silence”, giving way to a hidden instrumental track…

Track fourteen is a “hidden” instrumental track of which the name is unknown, at least to me. It is not printed anywhere in the CD booklet or indicated anywhere I could see on the band’s website of what its name is. Lovely acoustics and anathematic electric guitars are the basis of this song. I have always enjoyed the Jacob’s Dream instrumentals, and this one is no different. Much more melodic this time around, not as fast-paced and aggressive as the instrumentals of the past. It is more in a progressive vein than it is metal-oriented, another difference between this instrumental and their older ones. A beautiful instrumental track, and as it is the true closer of the album, a most fitting one it is at that.

Overall opinion: I really had to change my initial mindset on this one, and go into this album treating it as if it were an entirely new band, and not the Jacob’s Dream I had come to know and love over the years. Though I tried hard for it not to, the singing of Chaz Bond affected my judgment towards the album as a whole. If I had known before buying the album that Jacob’s Dream had endured a vocal change, I might have downloaded the album first. However, this is not to say that the album is bad or that Jacob’s Dream is no longer a good band. Quite the contrary. They are a great band, but I much prefer the singing of original vocalist David Taylor. But don’t let my preferences decide for you whether you should check out this band. If you have never heard of Jacob’s Dream before or have never picked up one of their CDs, I would highly suggest this as a starter, so that you may have an objective viewpoint towards them as a band as a whole, and do not have a pre-judgment towards Chaz Bond as a singer in comparison to David Taylor. But I would also strongly recommend picking up one of the first two Jacob’s Dream CDs as well, so that you can hear what Taylor was like as a singer. To me, Bond does not stray much vocally; he sounds pretty much the same throughout all the songs and does not seem to be daring or experimental at all. He sticks to what works for him and that’s all, thus, to me, making him sound a little boring and repetitive at times. The band has returned to their roots by getting back a couple of their founding members, and the trademark sound is more apparent than ever. But as is the case with all bands when a singer changes, it seems it will take another album or two before they find their niche with Chaz and make an album that is right for all the members. Granted, the music of Jacob’s Dream has been toned down a little and is not as fast or high-pitched as the previous albums; it is apparent they are structuring their songs to better fit Bond’s vocal style. But nonetheless, it is like a new pair of shoes, you need to walk around in them for a while before they feel right. Same with Jacob’s Dream. The album is great and Bond is a good singer, but I feel we have not heard their potential with this lineup yet. I have not given up on Jacob’s Dream as a hopeless case; I will stick around and see if their next album improves. I will say that I do have a lot of respect for Chaz Bond; he did not forget his roots nor did he try to pretend that he was not taking on a task of filling some pretty big shoes in Jacob’s Dreams’ vocal department. Not only did he thank his former band, Biogenesis, in the liner notes, but he also thanked David Taylor, and assured him that his shoes “could never be filled”. Not very many replacements in bands do such a classy thing. So long as there is always a chance that Taylor can return to the band, even as a guest vocalist from time to time, that would be fine with me. The new sound of Jacob’s Dream will take some time for older fans to get used to, but if you are new to the genre or to this band, this album is undoubtedly a must-have! If you like the power of melodic metal, then Jacob’s Dream is a band you should become better acquainted with. For those of you out there who feel that Europeans only make this kind of music anymore these days, turn your eyes to the U.S. and seek out this diamond in the rough.

Photos can be found courtesy of the band’s website: http://www.jacobsdream.us

Also visit the band’s fan club site: http://www.freewebs.com/jacobsdream/ 

Reviewer:   C.

Rating:  3 stars out of 5