Arabs In Aspic is a quartet that comes to us straight from Norway with a 'Heavy-prog' label. The band's name suggests that the 'Purple King' is one of their influences, but the four Norwegians also confess their admiration for Black Sabbath. "Pictures In A Dream" is only the third album of this band formed in 1997.
The previous opus, "Strange Frame of Mind", released in 2010, revealed a good integration of the 70's influences and allowed to hope for an exciting sequel. We might as well admit it right away, this hope is quite significantly disappointed. This new album opens with "Rejected Wasteland - Pictures in a Dream" which hesitates between Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. This impression is obviously due to the use of vintage sounds, mainly Hammond's, which made the great hours of the melodic Hard-Rock of the seventies. The second track ("Let U.S pray") turns frankly on the side of Black Sabbath with a heavy riff and a song almost 'Osbournian'.
If, musically, Arabs In Aspic offers us a joyful mixture of spicy ingredients borrowed from the recipes of the great ancients previously mentioned, there are some flaws... The big weak point of the album comes from the vocals. It's not the central vocals that are in question, but the abuse of the chorus that manages to spoil even the very Deep Purple-like "You Are Blind". It's all the more a pity because this track is worthy of the masters even in the drum break and the vocalist's lead vocals. It is difficult, in the end, to extract from this rather messy set the tracks that deserve the detour such as "Difference In Time".
In the end, this "Pictures In A Dream" blows hot and cold, the over-sung titles coming to harm the pleasure of listening. Too many voices kill the vocals, especially when they are, as here, not always well tuned. Some excellent compositions are however hidden in this album, making the frustration even more important.