Review by TheOneNeverSeen on March 1, 2023.

Recently I needed to look up something on Autopsy’s (the death metal one) page, and, after typing "Autopsy" in the search bar, noticed a French DSBM band of the same name in the result list. Intrigued, I decided to check their only release out. I was clearly lucky, for Sweet Dreams My Love is a very atmospheric album that I would recommend to any DSBM fan out there.

The album only has one serious problem which I want to get out of the way first. I listened to the album using the YouTube video on the channel Notre Depression. After downloading the album to publish the songs in my VK community, I’ve found a strange similarity between the intros of 'Insomnia' and 'Beautiful Fairy Tale'. I thought they’re just alike at first, but then listened closer to establish the songs are EXACTLY the same from start to finish. I haven’t managed to find a listenable version of the album on any other website, so I can’t state whether it’s some kind of twisted sens de l'humour of the band or a mistake by the Notre Depression’s host (I’m more inclined to believe the former considering the songs’ lengths are almost the same on EM and identical on a different website). Anyway, this is just weird and certainly doesn’t improve the listener’s impression of the album.

Aside from that, the album is good and offers very strong DSBM. The guitar tone (something between late Nocturnal Depression, My Useless Life’s "Bittersweet Agony" and Silencer’s "Death - Pierce Me") is pretty dark, the simple yet not too primitive drums accompanying it are unobtrusive and fit the sound well, and the vocals, most similar to Dennis Mikula’s are quite desperate and, again, blend with the music’s overall feeling.

The melodies are mostly consistent. I enjoyed 'Who Are You' the most due to the somber main riff and the desperate feeling created by the combination of guitars at 2:51. The vocals fit the melody exceptionally well, setting an even darker, more depressive mood. Another song I loved is the one possessing the optimistic name 'Tumor', its My Useless Life-style riff is incredibly atmospheric. The title track is also decent and resembles the "To Fade With The Dusk"-kind of feeling. The only song I didn’t like much was 'Insomnia'/'Beautiful Fairy Tale' (whatever is the original that was copied and added to the album under a different name), for its drum-less first half is rather cheap and the second half, although OK, fails to stand out from the rest of the record.

In conclusion, Sweet Dreams My Love is a dark, emotional album. Not a DSBM classic, but definitely one of the most consistent albums I have heard in the genre this year. Had it not been for the same song being here under 2 different names, it would’ve gotten a much higher score.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10