[Review] Dreamcatcher interestingly go in a heavy direction in Japan with “Endless Night”

In Korea, Dreamcatcher’s “Scream” comeback marked a bit of a departure from their previously constant rock-adjacent efforts, heading down a more EDM-inspired road and getting the desired outcome though generating as much attention as ever. However, in Japan it seems like they’ve doubled down on rock instead, and the result is a back-to-debut-basics type of harder-edged effort in “Endless Night“.

While “Scream” drew in a more mainstream audience, with me surprisingly coming in on the low-end of praise for it (well, comparatively), “Endless Night” goes in the other direction by bringing to one of the heaviest songs they’ve done yet. It doesn’t have a whole lot of twist and turns to it, but not doing too much with the rock foundation is a nice switch in itself.

The rapid-fire drum hits from Coldrain‘s Katsuma and menacing guitar riffs from Totalfat‘s Kuboty set the stage and eventually give way to a frantic barrage of both instruments as things kick into overdrive during the chorus, achieving Dreamcatcher’s usual melodic version of rock-pop with aplomb even if it goes harder than usual. The melody does feel a bit bare, as if it’s missing a bit of extra push over the top from both the instrumental and the vocals, both of which come off as restraining itself a bit. Maybe a surprising complaint considering the heaviness of the song, but if you listen to the choruses of other heavier efforts like “Good Night” I think what I mean becomes apparent. Still, it’s an overall successful chorus that contains a pleasant hook and concludes with a guitar-focused post-chorus that ends things on an upper.

Normally Dreamcatcher do a surprisingly good job of mixing in the rap verse in a tried and true rap-rock fashion that flows well, but the second verse truly felt out of place from the rest of the song here, which made it a bit awkward like it could’ve been copy-pasted in from another song. Thankfully it does make up for it somewhat by launching into a great bridge, which builds momentum for its all-out conclusion.

Considering the bonafides of the musicians they worked with on “Endless Night”, it does seem to fall short of its potential, and I wanted to like it more than I think I actually did due to the aforementioned issues that fail to push it over the top. That said, if Dreamcatcher are going to head in a more EDM direction in Korea, then I’d love to see them continue to counter that with a more metal/heavy direction in Japan, and this is certainly a good jumping off point.

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TheBiasList found it enjoyable but straightforward, preferring “Scream” but saying those who like the rock edge would prefer this.

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