[5/10] After three modestly successful releases through Metal Blade Records: 2000’s Jacobs Dream, 2001’s Theater Of War and 2005’s Drama Of The Ages, Columbus, OH-based power metal act Jacobs Dream and Metal Blade decided to part ways, leaving the band free agents.

Now after three years away from the scene, the five piece act (who comprise of vocalist Chaz Bond, guitarists John Berry and Jon Noble, bassist James Evans and drummer Gary Holtzman) are back once again with their fourth full-length release Dominion Of Darkness. And in all honesty, it’s a bit of a disappointment.

There’s a saying that you should never judge a book by its cover, but I’ll admit that I wasn’t all that impressed with the packaging that accompanied the new Jacobs Dream album. And after giving it a couple of spins, I have to say that my initial impressions of Dominion Of Darkness carried through to the music contained on the disc.

Style-wise, Jacobs Dream haven’t changed all that much, with their sound still very much rooted in the old school power metal vein of early Queensrÿche and Fates Warning.But while there’s no real surprise about the lack of progression in their sound, what’s really worrying however is the band’s tendencies to make the same mistakes with the release of every new album.

The opening track, “Demon World” is a prime example of both Jacobs Dream’s strength and weakness. On a musical level, it’s hard to fault the guitarists and their ability to come up with some great riffs and some really catchy solos. The remainder of the band too can be commended for their individual contributions to the song as well. But it has to be said that the weakest element to “Demon World” is vocalist Bond. Throughout the verses, he’s able to get that lower register Geoff Tate vocal tone down to perfection. But it’s in the choruses where he attempts to sing outside his abilities that it sounds completely out of key, and inevitably ends up turning a solid song into something cringe worthy.

The other problem is the production. I will assume that the band have once again produced themselves -as there’s nothing mentioned in the credits - and you can tell. Although the album does sound marginally better than Drama Of The Ages, it’s still below the standard you would typically expect of a metal act these days.

Despite its flaws, Dominion Of Darkness does have its moments, such as “Can’t Break”, the progressive tinged “Curse Of Antikythera”, the anthem based “Hero”, “Dissolution Of Purity” and the driving closer “Mercy Killing.”

With a bit of editing (at 13 tracks long, two could have easily been dropped off), a rethink of cover artwork and a proper producer at the helm, Dominion Of Darkness could have easily stood out as one of Jacobs Dream’s strongest releases. But as it is now, it’s just another release from the band with the same strengths and weaknesses that have become all too familiar with those who have heard their last couple of releases.

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