Review written by Stijn “Metal Shredder” Daneels.

While creating the playlist for the March 27 2020 episode of Belgian Metal Shredder On Air, I was looking for a fun rock band to be played right after the Belgian symphonic rock band Solitude Within and my eyes fell on the Swiss progressive rock band Dylem. Both bands released new material in March (Solitude Within had a new single called “Astray” and Dylem released a new EP), both bands had female vocalists and sufficient musical similarities and differences to put them together. And now it’s time to further delve into Dylem’s new EP!

“Eye of the Storm” is the first EP from the Swiss progressive rock band founded and named after Melody Dylem, best known for her time as vocalist for the Swiss gothic metal band Elferya. The EP is released through German record label 7Hard and sent to us by their parent company 7Us Media Group. Vielen Dank!

After an ambient intro called “Storm,” the EP’s title track comes in strongly with powerful riffs, orchestral keyboards and choir backings and Dylem’s vocals. Her voice has a tragic, vulnerable quality to it and the song’s beats remind me of early Nightwish, with heavy beats and bombastic keyboard tunes. Next up is the ballad “See You” and in this particular track Dylem delivers a truly terrific vocal performance in a song that’s all about longing for a loved one’s touch and presence and those feelings of loneliness get further amplified by the moody keyboards, explosive guitars and pounding drums.

“Can’t Take Anymore” begins as a piano-powered ballad before the tune turns into an upbeat motivational tune, this song also features several guitar solos and is arguably the most progressive track on the EP. And finally “Far Beyond” brings out Dylem’s more symphonic side with a lot of piano but the prog guitars still stand strong.

While Dylem’s sound shares some ingredients with symphonic acts like Nightwish, Within Temptation and Epica, Dylem leaves much of the orchestral stuff behind and focuses on guitars and keyboards. The result is a more progressive-oriented sound while retaining much of the operatic beauty of those aforementioned bands, a different, but very enjoyable take.

The concept of a storm is taken literally in “Eye of the Storm’s” artwork, showing a gigantic storm destroying an entire city. I really like the details on the artwork, such as the two silver-white doves flying in front of the dark grey storm and the two people peacefully watching the ravage from a safe distance. It’s also a great visual representation of the themes on this EP. The world may be in shambles, but there’s still genuine hope for the future.

I really enjoyed both the EP’s title track for its energetic symphonic rock beats and the mesmerizing ballad “See You.” With the social and physical isolation caused by the current COVID-19 crisis, “See You’s” theme of loneliness cuts even deeper. It’s a very compelling and nowadays extremely relatable song.

Personally, I don’t think it was necessary to have the “Storm” intro track. Even with its short minute and a half runtime it still felt dragged out and the title track of “Eye of The Storm” does a good enough job on its own to introduce Dylem’s sound.

8 white doves out of 10. If you enjoy bands like Nightwish or Within Temptation but wished they were less orchestral and more progressive then Dylem is a clear-cut recommendation. Here’s the music video for “Eye of the Storm’s” title track.