Theatre Of Night - "Dreams Of Winter" Album Review!!

With a very quiet concert weekend ahead, let's get this month's 162nd CD review up on the SMS, and to end the year, we're going seasonal with a look at Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's sixth paid album "Dreams of Winter"! Independently released on their Reverbnation page on December 2nd, this is their first album with a paid release (Spotify playlists excepted) in almost 5 years, and is effectively an expanded revision of their 2011 album "Christmas Night", a seasonal release that foretold Theatre of Night's future as a touring act. Credits for the album aren't listed, but they have worked on and teased Christmas studio plans for years, some of which may or may not reflect the final product on this album. Their current lineup includes returning keyboardist Craig Harrison and guitarist Steve Giles from "Christmas Night", now joined by singer Rachel Mender, bassist Luke Bernard, and drummer Erik Sales.

Note that Scott Andringa was their bassist from 2017-2021, but it's not clear if he recorded anything present on the released album. You can buy "Dreams of Winter" at the above links for $9.99, and it can also be heard on most major streaming platforms, including on YouTube. As this album is mostly re-recordings, I won't re-review most songs, but I will compare them to the original album as to what changed. For reference, I am using the original all-instrumental 2011 version of the album for comparisons, not the later digital copy that featured vocals from ex-singer Gaby Koss and guest Ida Elena on select songs, and click here for my review of the original album. Featuring 14 tracks running for about 56 minutes, let's begin another Christmas night, 11 long years later!

The track listing of the albums have differences, but both start with "What Child Is This". The new version keeps the same arrangement but with some extra crescendos, and crucially, Rachel on vocals in the second half. She puts her pretty, operatic vocals to good use, with an effective drop in pitch late! I'm not sure that the added early instrumentation truly added anything, but you can see why this song kicked off the albums and their live Christmas concerts! Moving way up to track #2 is "Carol of the Bells", which is more or less a verbatim re-recording from the original a decade ago, and while there's no differences to speak of compositionally, the production quality is definitely cleaner and less fuzzy on the new version! Given how the Trans-Siberian Orchestra popularized this carol in a metal context, Theatre of Night's version continues to fit their mold very well!

The next eight songs are in order on both albums. Next is "Road To Bethlehem" (no "The" at the end anymore), which remains a short original instrumental with an identical arrangement. New recording quality aside, the biggest difference is that the opening 15 second introduction gradually gets louder, whereas it was a static volume originally. This mildly eerie orchestral piece still sets an interesting mood at this early stage! It is followed by "Little Drummer Boy", which sees the return of Rachel on vocals, but not singing the complete lyrics, opting not to do the "pa-rum-pum-pum-pum" parts until the title character asks Mary if he can drum for the baby Jesus. I assume they opted to hold that until the boy actually started drumming in universe, but something feels missing when you don't have them there. Otherwise, this is the same song with higher production values, and it's a strong & dramatic rendition!

Next is "Christmas Night" (formerly "Arabian Christmas Night"), which retains the original instrumental piece's structure but does tone down some of the twinkling and windy background effects, and I think I hear some vocal harmonies layered into the recording. Not a heavy song, but a pretty bridge between established carol renditions then and now! The albums' shortest song "Away In A Manger" follows with Rachel's return on vocals and more of a prominent drum track than on the original. Erik is a little loud in the mix here, especially given the softer nature of this carol in both versions, but Rachel's addition fits very well, and it's a nice mellow break as we reach the mid-point! Song #7 is "Dance of the Sugarplums" (previously named "The Nutcracker"), which remains an instrumental with the same structure, but Steve does show off a little more on guitar, and the drums are more prominent & rock based.

I think this revision is the best of the instrumental ones so far in terms of adding to the song, giving this holiday ballet staple some extra zest! The second half of "Dreams of Winter" leads off with "Silent Night", which Rachel sang on the Spotify version of "Christmas Night" too. Unlike her prior songs on the new album, her vocals are used from the start rather than after an instrumental verse. Her vocals are well done again and suitably orchestral, but I'd have dialed them back a little just given the song's mellow & spare tone. Still effective, and maintains the original version's musical framework! "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" is next up, and for the first time on the album, Rachel sings on consecutive songs, but only to do partial choruses and the final verse. You have her here, why not use her? The drum track is also more prominent here, so fans of Erik's work will be happy!

Well performed version of this classic carol that sticks to old formulas with additions, but again, I'd have had Rachel sing more of this. The run of eight consecutive songs in order across both albums ends with track #10, "Star In The East" (no more "A" at the beginning). While still an original instrumental, this arguably has the most changes to the song proper yet, including a shorter intro, a steady percussion track (the original had no drums), and an electric guitar solo rather than the spare plucking fans originally heard. As such, the 2012 version is definitely more metal, and it does feel a little more like a Theatre of Night song compared to the slighty muzak-ish original! With "Carol of the Bells" launched up to song #2, the final two songs imported from "Christmas Night" remain as tracks #11 & #12 here, with "O Holy Night" up next.

The longest song on offer then & now, this version keeps the same arrangement, but adds drums and vocals to the mix, and they are a massive help, as the original was kind of monotonous as just a keyboard/guitar instrumental. Clearly the prior re-release with Ida on guest vocals became the canon version of this carol to update! It's still a little long compared to prior songs, but adding in the full band heft was the right call, and Rachel arguably has her strongest vocal performance yet! The final song adapted from "Christmas Night" is "Hark The Herald" (no "Angels Sing" at the end anymore). Like the original, this is a orchestral-heavy rendition, but about 1:20 in, Rachel and Erik jump in to add vocals and drums to the proceedings. They generally help things out, but having Rachel only sing some verses partially with the instrumentation "singing" first just made the song sound unfinished.

Leaving in the low, spare, and drawn out ending of the original more or less intact isn't what I'd have done, but it's still effectively performed! The last two songs on "Dreams of Winter" are new to Theatre of Night albums and were not on either the original or the patched revision of "Christmas Night". First of them is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and while this is new to their discography, the formula is not dissimilar, including a sparer intro and a full band middle section with vocals, plus Craig's solid orchestral keyboard work throughout. Alas, this song also does the "Rachel sings only the back half of some verses" thing, which I really don't get (if the band is "singing" the first chunk, it should be a more prominent solo from Steve than what we're getting). That aside, this carol has always lent itself well to rock covers and Theatre of Night do it justice, and I like that the outro wasn't dragged out for as long as on earlier tracks!

The new album closes with a rendition of "We Three Kings", This is arguably one of the heavier cuts on offer, and the chugging riff is solid (if a little low in the mix). Mercifully, Rachel's verses are all intact here, and the composition is strong on this carol, with a nice symphonic fade out to boot, but this is a song that is repetitive on its own, so playing it traditionally (if metalled up) for 5+ minutes means that it does drag a bit by the end. Solid rendition all the same, and a nice bonus to cap off the album with!

So, what is the final verdict on Theatre of Night's second Christmas album (or it's re-recording?) Overall, this is a strongly done update that adds a lot to the existing songs and better reflects Theatre of Night as the live band that we know and love today! With the exception of "Star In The East", the songs are seriously identical structurally (I bounced back and forth in Audacity to cross-reference the 2022 changes), but adding vocals to most of the carol renditions is largely a plus, and I had forgotten that Greg Giles' drumming on the original wasn't a constant across those songs, so having a more regular inclusion of percussion was very welcomed. On the whole, these songs were generally heavier and more varied with the expansions, and Craig's orchestral flourish on keyboard helps set these apart! However, I don't really like the "Rachel only sings half of a verse" approach used on some songs.

Given the heavier, full band approach, letting Steve loose on guitar would be a plus if it happened more, and I do think Theatre of Night slightly missed the boat by not basically making this a verbatim studio version of their live concert, complete with bridging spoken word narration. Still, this is an improvement on "Christmas Night" (original or revised), and it'd be neat to see Theatre of Night tackle more Christmas classics down the line! Buy or stream "Dreams of Winter" at the above links, I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and stay tuned for our review of Chase Wigmore's newest solo album on the site early next month! Thanks everyone!