Eerie Von- Bad Dream

Bad Dream No. 13, the first solo outing from former Samhain/Danzig bassist Eerie Von since 1999's The Blood and the Body, finds the multi-instrumentalist tearing through an entirely self-performed, stylistically diverse 13-song set. From moody, semi-industrial tracks to gothic folk with blues overtones, the disc's overall sound sometimes has a bit of a Roland S. Howard thing going on, plodding organic instrumental numbers accompanied by a proficient semi-goth croon. While the disc is a bit rough around the edges (including slightly spotty engineering/mastering that results in some very noticeable clipping) and, at times, lo-fi, its blend of rock elements and loops/drum machines/synths is particularly captivating.

From the opening rhythmic retro post-punk of "A Cage, Is a Cage…" to the b-horror instrumentals "Prelude to Death" and "Benediction #2", the former adding a nice retro theremin touch, the disc has plenty of variety yet is also sonically consistent. "The Bone Drone" is a great rhythmic guitar rock number accented by horror movie synth, managing to drag itself out to nearly 6 minutes in length without wearing out its welcome. "In the Shade", on the other hand, is a heavier, shorter rocker built around an electronic drum loop and a synth bass riff. "Downontheslab" is a mellow, lo-fi, bluesy guitar number, while "2 Tears in a Bucket" is a hook-laden, rhythmic rock standout.

"Meet Death", the apparent follow-up to its prelude, enters slow, repetitive old-school goth rock territory, as does the disc's bass-driven title-track save for a nice rock moment brought on by a tempo change. "The Perfect Criminal" is somewhat sparser, a steady bass drum foundation and repeating bass riff with the occasional noise flourish providing the sole accompaniment beneath the vocals. "The Velvet Shroud" is another rhythmic rock track, slightly recalling the sound of "The Bone Drone", while "Sing, Sinner, Sing!" blends a steady percussion foundation with nice slide guitar accents. "Case Study #107/Rec. Room 3A", on the other hand, is something of an interlude, a spoken word piece in the form of a psychologist's notes followed by a repeating solo piano riffed backed by samples of everything from maniacal laughter to birds.

As a whole, Bad Dream No. 13 is an interesting, fairly impressive listen. It's often repetitive, with songs frequently made up of one riff repeating for 5 minutes, but it's also organic and sonically interesting enough that its repetitive nature rarely becomes grating or annoying. Those willing to ignore its fairly benign but sometimes noticeable lo-fi shortcomings and, perhaps, give it a few listens to sink in, will find a rich, sparse, moody rock album with retro post-punk appeal.