CD Review

Eerie Von – "Bad Dream No. 13"

By Marcus Pan

Eerie Von has been involved in the music underground for quite some time. As a founding member of Danzig and Samhain, player with Rosemary's Babies(1) as well as his own solo releases, such as 2001's The Blood and the Body, his repertoire is impressive. This time around he brings us solo release Bad Dream No. 13, a thirteen track album that hovers somewhere between experimental/ambient and stoner rock.

Bad Dream No. 13 is an interesting collection, but for me it fails to deliver on the excitement generated by such a notable name in the underground music scene. Many tracks here are stoic, dragging and become boring at best. On the press kit the release is described as "disturbing" and claims of its lasting impression are there...disturbing is somewhat accurate, but Bad Dream No. 13 is forgetfull and stagnant overall.

Bad Dream No. 13 opens with A Cage Is a Cage...at first the guitars are riveting but they don't change enough to hold one's interest and their chord/note progressions are predictable and don't do much beyond box scores or very simple arrangements. Percussion is muted and boring, though Eerie's voice is powerfully commanding here while extolling stoner rock lyrics and creed. The Bone Drone is just that – droning, boring, stagnant and lyrically banal.

In the Shade picks up the pace a bit, adding a faster rhythm but still retaining a very untechnical feel with predictable movements both for bass and guitar. I'm just wishing for some of the excitement that Danzig had, as Downontheslab gets country-like in its guitar strains. Upbeat attempts like 2 Tears in a Bucket still come out sounding bedridden. I don't know what's up with Case Study = 107 / Rec. Room 3A which opens with someone reading a case report followed by the chiming of a cuckoo clock. Then we close with Benedition +2 which is an organ piece done in cathedral style...not a bad piece and an interesting way to close what was previously a grungy rock collection.

Bad dream No. 13 rarely changes tack and only modifies its rhythm from track to track. The guitar based songs are playable by anyone who vaguely touched a six string...a middle school music project at best. I didn't find myself interested in it much overall and considering the status of an underground player like Eerie Von with all his past work, I'm extremely surprised at the lack of technical merit, forethought and excitement that I would have otherwise expected here.

Contact Information:
Mag Wheel Promotions Canada
Post: PO Box 555, Stn. P, Toronto, ON, M5S 2T1, Canada
E-Mail: magwheel@hotmail.com

(1) Rosemary’s Babies Talking to the Dead was reviewed in Legends #150.

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