{"id":902884,"date":"2026-09-20T12:46:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T12:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/902884\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T12:46:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T12:46:27","slug":"hanging-garden-dream-death-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/902884\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanging Garden – Dream Death Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Between reckless grooves, shimmering leads, and Byzantine riffs, those familiar with Dylan Cruz\u2019s projects should have some idea of what Hanging Garden offers. Sophomore album Dream Death once again features New York\u2019s Cruz as the band\u2019s sole musical contributor, and while he\u2019s acted as guitarist, bassist, and vocalist across various projects (Scumbag<\/a>, Dissonance, and formerly Noxis<\/a>), solo project Hanging Garden finds him supplying every piece of the sonic gamut. While Scumbag\u2019s Homicide Cult featured Cruz\u2019s low-end, knuckle-dragging heft, what usually stands out about his performances are the progressive-leaning, riff-centric guitar displays. Throughout Cruz\u2019s projects, his creative application of six-string shenanigans never fails to cook up hooks, and Dream Death proves another worthy notch in his belt. Yet you need more than a few sick licks to keep listeners coming back for more. Does Dream Death offer enough to keep folks Hanging around?<\/p>\n

Hanging Garden trades in densely clustered, bone-rattling compositions that whip and seethe in unpredictable paroxysms of melody and br00tality. In this way, it\u2019s clear that Noxis\u2019s Violence Inherent in the System shares DNA with Hanging Garden, as both walk the line between bursts of frenzied riffing and snaking leads. Second track \u201cOndine\u201d most reminds me of Noxis as it cruises and bruises with a punchy intro and continues throwing haymakers throughout. Opener \u201cArete\u201d leans closer to Scumbag early on, storming the Garden gates with an adrenalized ferocity that should set your headbangometer to \u2018breakneck\u2019 tout de suite. Unlike Cruz\u2019s aforementioned projects, though, Dream Death ups the ante from Hanging Garden\u2019s debut, The God That Made Them Bow, and emphasizes melodic backdrops and gazey layers alongside the whiplashing punishments of their deathly wares.<\/p>\n

\ufeffDream Death by HANGING GARDEN<\/a><\/p>\n

Though Cruz excels at master-crafting wicked riffs and searing solos, Hanging Garden gives him an arena to develop dimensions outside his other current and former projects. It\u2019s no cause for alarm\u2014the riffs and solos still thrill on Dream Death\u2014it\u2019s just that here they collide with vibrant textures, bestowing dynamic stratifications of sounds woven into an aural tapestry that billows and ripples with audacity. Though hinted at early on, swells of euphony unfurl as listeners delve deeper into Dream Death. \u201cDreamwoven\u201d begins with beefy, slug \u2018n\u2019 chug tactics that\u2019ll slap the stank right on your face. Then a jangle of notes rings out atop filthy grooves and blossoms over the course of the track, where almost-but-not-quite mellifluousness jostles against nasty barbarity. This give and take persists throughout Dream Death, where melody asserts more control through the back half, especially on closer \u201cSuffering Radiant Memories,\u201d even though the thuggery never dissipates completely.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Though Hanging Garden marshals forces primal and sophisticated on Dream Death, a few modifications could have commanded an even greater impact. Given the relatively compact instrumentation, the production doesn\u2019t necessitate a huge dynamic range to let organic timbres and resonances through, yet the busy compositions occasionally ache for more space. The walls of sound, like those heard on \u201cArete\u201d and \u201cEndymion,\u201d exact their toll across a tidy forty-one minutes, and while this isn\u2019t a huge knock against, a little extra breathing room would allow Hanging Garden\u2019s arrangements to cut deeper. More positively, Cruz presents a wide variety of atmospheres and riffs without anything ever feeling out of place. Considering the ground covered on Dream Death, this is no mean feat. And though I appreciate the assortment of sonic elements on tap, I wish there was a tad more cohesion amongst the bump and scrape of melody and wiolence. Not to suggest none exists, mind, as everything blooming in Hanging Garden bears fruit\u2014only that putting a finer point on the balance between the two would take Dream Death to even greater heights.<\/p>\n

Once again, Dylan Cruz makes his presence immediately known and appreciated, delivering a big success with Hanging Garden\u2019s second platter. Dream Death takes a few listens to dig into and get a sense of what\u2019s happening, but doing so is well worth the time. From the thrash-driven leads on \u201cTears of Lustful, Secret Desire\u201d that collapse into post-addled textures to the tech death soloing and battery on \u201cCarambola,\u201d Cruz plants his prog death seeds deep enough to let your Garden groan. Amidst a rising tide of quality releases, Hanging Garden remains rooted in relevance and entreats you to dare to Dream Death.<\/p>\n

Rating: Very Good
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: September 18th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n