• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Dissident View is a four-member band from Lévis, near Quebec City, Canada.  Band vocalist and guitarist Pierre Bégin (webmaster of The Official Hanker Web Site) sent me a copy of their most recent demo, The Inked Paper Philosophy after some contacts via e-mail.  The official release of the demo has three songs: This Way, Hard Life and The Inked Paper Philosophy.  My copy also has a new song, Disciples Of The Void and a newer version of The Inked Paper Philosophy.

There is no single lead vocalist in Dissident View.  Guitarists Pierre Bégin and Gilles Labbé and drummer Steve Bégin are the lead or back vocalists depending on the song being played.  The demo includes songs with Pierre and Steve as lead vocalists.  This makes for some interesting variety.  Heck, you get to pick your preferred singer! :-)

Dissident View's style is classic heavy metal (the best!!!) and the songs include all you expect from this type of music.  Although I won't comment on each musician's work, the songs are very well executed, revealing a lot of talent from each band member.  The guitar solos are great and very well placed within each song, making this demo a good listening experience.  I was glad to have the two extra songs included on the tape, as it shows that Dissident View has improved from the original recording of the demo.  This especially shows on The Inked Paper Philosophy, since both an old and a new version are included, and the difference can be heard in the first few seconds.  I hope to hear some new material sometime in the future.

I don't want to comment too much since this is the only demo I've ever heard.  While I love the music, they would benefit with a little improvement on the vocals, which, at least to my ears, are not always on par with the music, but even then, this is only in a few places mostly on This Way and Hard Life.  Seeing the improvement in the music, with time I think the vocals will catch up, so Dissident View is definitely a band to keep an eye out for.  Get this demo if you can.  This one I'm definitely transferring to CD-R.