DREAMS AND REALITIES II
The Line-up for this record is:
Vincent Jose – Vox/ Guitars
Bobby Legaspi- Bass
Fabio Alessandrini – Drums (on Children of Terra, Dreams and Realities)
James Knoerl – Drums (on Zodiac Queen)
Krzysztof Klingbein- Drums (on Riding the Crystals of Heaven)
Dreams and Realities 2 is the follow-up to a two-part project, continuing from Dreams and Realities Part 1. The idea is pretty much the same as Part 1, with versions that have vocals and others that are just instrumentals. Like mentioned before, whenever Vincent listens to the album, sometimes he prefers the one with vocals, and other times he just vibes with the instrumental version.
The story picks up from Part 1, where the voyager or astronaut on the cover ends up lost and stuck in some unknown place. After going up against the resident evil or some kind of entity in that dimension, he manages to fight back and reflect on himself. That leads to the scene on the cover of Part 2.
It can be seen as a kind of rise to clarity after going through a rough battle, realizing your own strength, and finally finding peace. You could even call it reaching your own version of heaven.
The production of this album came into fruition either right after finishing Part 1 or during its final stages. In many ways, it served as a natural extension of what began with the first part. It took a bit of a detour when Normand Yu ran into some personal issues, along with complications related to ownership and possible legal matters involving his studio.
Despite that, production still pushed through. Vincent was determined to finish the album. Having previously worked with Fabio Alessandrini on Part 1, he was able to record again on Children of Terra and Dreams and Realities, Vincent was able to connect with James Knoerl from Berklee College of Music based in Manhattan New York. He also brought in Krzysztof Klingbein, a drummer from Europe who specializes in extreme metal genres. Fortunately, Bobby was still on board and continued playing the bass parts for the album.
From there, it took a few rounds of emails and back-and-forth arrangements with Normand to finally complete the material. This album might be one of the last, if not the last, produced under the main Glasstone Studio in Quezon City before it moved out of its original location.
After the successful release of Dreams and Realities Part 1, with the same live lineup, the band kept the momentum going with a series of skirmish sets under Scorpion Productions, playing various gigs and benefit shows under the same banner. They performed at renowned venues such as 70s Bistro, Unknown13 Pub, and Eastside. They also played under Chocolatey Prod at PXM Bar, along with frequent performances at their go-to spot, Motorista.
On June 20, 2023, they released Dreams and Realities Part 2, adopting "620" as their own symbolic date, an homage to the cultural significance of 420. The album was made available online and through physical CDs under Sliptrick Records, with Philippine physical distribution once again handled by Bear’s Den Records.
The album launch gig was initially scheduled for July 9, 2023, at Eton Centris in Quezon City but due to a typhoon, it was postponed and successfully held on August 5, 2023. The lineup featured Hepe, Dark Horse, Giro Alva, Agham, and Monochrome.
The album gained both international and local coverage from music publications such as Breathing the Core, Finland’s Metalshock, Melodylane, Progressor.net, The Obelisk, 666Mr.Doom, MetalMilitia, and Doomed-Nation, among others. Locally, it was featured in Pilipino Star, PangMasa (PM), and even in the arts/music section of the BusinessWorld newspaper.