That the words "doom art" are emblazoned on the back of the Escape to the Dreamlands digipak might be misleading. Sure, you could get away with categorizing Evoke Thy Lords as doom, but they’re as busy and uptempo as the genre allows, with many frilly elements that will ensure no one will be using more than two "o"s in doom to describe them.

Not that frilly elements are bad things. The two main ones here are female operatic vocals and flute. The vocals are very much in the forefront in terms of the mix and the amount of usage they get. The flute also plays a major role when it appears, which is a good move in this case, as it provides a relatively good hook, and it’s always cool when bands use actual organic instruments rather than synthesizing them.

However, the shortcomings of the vocals are that, in spite of being technically proficient, are too singular in their delivery and composition. The growly male vocals (which are present about as much as the female vocals) are also one-dimensional and monotonous, but that’s not much of a surprise.

Escape to the Dreamlands’ production isn’t at the height of professionalism, but it’s very respectable: You can hear the band was going for big, full sound, and there is little to criticize in the result.

But in the end, Escape to the Dreamlands is little more than a dead average album. This is largely as how the music itself has very little flavor. Sure, the performances are all tight, but what the rhythm guitar is doing has no personality. It’s like there are no riffs in the entire album — like the guitar and bass plays something like generic metal riffing 101, and that’s it. If it weren’t for the flute, there would be nothing for the ear to grab a hold of. This might be ok if the vocals provided very poignant melodic or syntactical landmarks, but it’s like there are a group of musicians playing underlying parts, and none playing the lead.

Evoke Thy Lords’ effort is entirely correct. There is nothing wrong with the album. It’s greatest flaw is it’s artistically dull. It’s listenable all the way through, and you can get a flavor for the album as a whole, but there’s nothing specifically memorable about it, and nothing to make you want to listen to it again. (5/10)