Born from the Thrash-Metal epicenter of the San Francisco Bay Area comes WILDERNESS DREAM, a brand-new four-piece heavy metal unit of destruction combining the speed and fury of 80Ís thrash and 90Ís death metal, with the melodic leanings and no-frills DIY aesthetic of modern day punk. Though boasting this unique amalgamation of influences, it comes as no surprise that the band would dawn both the melody-infused underpinnings and unrelenting intensity of the membersÍ current and past projects. WILDERNESS DREAM consists of current HEARTSOUNDS frontman Ben Murray on Guitar/Vocals, who also played drums in the now defunct Bay Area Melodic Death Metal act, LIGHT THIS CITY (Prosthetic Records, 2002-2008). HEARTSOUNDS drummer Trey Derbes also provides the ripping percussive soundtrack to WILDERNESS DREAMÍs debut Self-Titled 12″ EP, offering a natural, live, and completely unedited approach to the drum production _ While Murray and Derbes began writing what would become WILDERNESS DREAMÍs debut release throughout the past few years, the band didnÍt become an entity of itÍs own until Ryan Hansen entered the fold on second guitar and vocals, followed by Bret Fontaine joining in on bass guitar. Ryan Hansen and Ben Murray share a musical history as well, as Hansen played lead guitar in LIGHT THIS CITY, which contributes to the cohesive musical vision and camaraderie of what has now become WILDERNESS DREAM. From Metalsucks.net:îMetal fans of a certain age and MetalSucks readers who were with us very early on may remember Light This City, a talented melodic death metal band from San Francisco who for a brief moment seemed poised to break through. The band broke up in 2008, but drummer and band co-founder Ben Murray continued making music with Heartsounds (together with LTC vocalist Laura Nichol) and releasing music by that band and others on his label, Creator Destructor.Murray is back with another new project, this one decidedly more metal than Heartsounds (and possibly more than Light This City, too). In Wilderness Dream Murray drops his drumsticks in favor of a guitar pick and a microphone, and heÍs joined by Ryan ñHollywoodî Hansen (who played on LTCÍs Stormchaser album) on guitar and Trey Derbes from Heartsounds on drums.. ItÍs fast and furious, itÍs got roots in both metal and hardcore and itÍs melodic without being cheesy at all." Clocking in at just under 15 minutes, the 6 songs that comprise the bandÍs debut release reflect a sonic-musical attack reminiscent of thrash legends in SACRIFICE and TESTAMENT, with a violent and unrestrained vocal approach, more akin to Crossover acts such as CURSED, RINGWORM, and INTEGRITY. Lyrically, Murray adopts a more stripped down and bleak approach to his death-obsessed, anxiety-ridden regurgitation of his experience, moving through an overpopulated, immoral, and devastatingly distracted human-landscape. The band explores their own interpretation of the futility and uncertainty of life, while never negating our all-encompassing, ever-growing and universal fear of the end. Track Listing: 01. Existential Assault 02. Rebirth 03. Death Delusion 04. Alive in the Dark 05. Kept Under 06. Firebreather
