KTHRTK – ‘Dreams Are The Only Safe Place To Hide’ [Album Review]

KTHRTK’s debut album, Dreams Are The Only Safe Place To Hide, blends elements of metalcore, math metal, technical death metal, symphonic metal, groove metal, and nu metal.

The brainchild of guitarist Doug Berns, the album features extreme metal/jazz-fluent drummer Alex Cohen and Sean Salant (guitar). On Dreams Are The Only Safe Place To Hide, Berns injects the raw harshness of heavy metal with orchestral euphony and an aura of harmonic coherence.

Comprising nine tracks, highlights on the album include “Funeral,” heaving with dense guitars and black energy, energy emphasized by Cohen’s pummeling percussion, rife with brutal double-bass and rumbling toms-toms.

Dark and chockfull of boiling guitars, “The Needle” features powerful, melodic vocals and the standard demonic groaning timbres, imbuing the tune with a fresh and compelling duality.

A gentle, chiming, almost classical intro announces “Shuffle The Bodies,” a stuttering composition topped by Queen-like harmonies, infusing the song with hints of operatic flavours while the primary vocals roil with deep, thrumming scowls.

A personal favourite because of its climbing, compact guitars and gnarly flow, “Still Fighting” entertains shifting harmonics, ranging from clotted episodes to shimmering breakdowns. On the outro, Salant’s guitar blisters the dynasphere with extended, incandescent licks.

KTHRTK, photo by Stephanie Augello

For some reason, the intro to “Step Into The Light” conjures up suggestions of Ghost and then transitions into a grand, hefty melody reminiscent of Dio, especially the vocals.

Sans a subpar track, along with its affinity for threads of concerto surfaces, Dreams Are The Only Safe Place To Hide is excellent.

Dreams Are The Only Safe Place To Hide Track Listing:

1. Sleep
2. Funeral
3. The Needle
4. Shuffle The Bodies
5. Die Like A Warrior
6. Still Fighting
7. Step Into The Light
8. Detoxify
9. Letting Go

Run Time: 30:23

Release Date: June 9, 2023

Record Label: Independent