Premiere: Assam/Oslo Metallers Dreamscapade Dig Into Slash-Happy Mathcore in ‘Hokvai’ Video

We last heard from metal band Dreamscapade in 2018, when they released the rattling single “Abnormalities” and it’s been a somewhat quiet four years since then. With lineup changes and shifting locations for the band members, the New Delhi-origin band currently comprises drummer Rishi Baruah in Assam and Oslo-based vocalist Theang Teron, who now takes on guitar and bass duties.

The duo has put together a new song called “Hokvai,” steeped in the chaos of mathcore and modern metal. Baruah says in a statement, “’Hokvai’ is about confronting fears and accepting that change is the only constant.” Teron explains that “Hokvai” translates to mean “coal” in his native Karbi language. “Hence the metaphor in this sentence alludes to the fortitude to endure hardship. A metamorphosis, cause diamonds start as coal,” he adds in his statement.

Populated with dissonant post-hardcore riffage, Teron’s varying metal vocal range runs from emo screams to guttural growls. The flittering rhythms and breakdowns carry a clear influence from bands like Periphery and Alexisonfire but also lean into heavier math-metal territory, reminiscent of Protest The Hero and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Baruah notes that the song is dedicated to their friend Krishanu Borah, the Assam-origin guitarist and songwriter from metal band Winter Gate, who passed away in November last year.

“Hokvai” follows “Abnormalities” as well as their 2017 debut EP Software Realities. It’s accompanied by a video that keeps in theme with Halloween scariness, splicing together eerie stock footage as well as clips from cult horror films like The Shining and Psycho.

Watch the video for “Hokvai” below.