Reviews

French review
www.pop-rock.com/article.php3?id_article=2073

French review
www.magicfiremusic.net/chronique.php?cat=chronic&id=2076

French review
www.progressive-area.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=2

...Emphasized with the melodies and the charismatic female vocals of Hegt, tracks like “Sadness” & “Jewel” mix an ethereal vibe/Mellotron backdrop with grinding guitars; “Wounded” uses the layering of her voice along with noise textures to add haunting elements; and speaking of haunting, “Nature’s Cruelty” with its church organ, has the most evocative elements on the senses. Also stepping up to the mic is Gildenlow, who sings in a soft voice, for which his approach is perfect for tunes such as the mellow “Sadness” and the acoustic “Points of View;” even Graves sings lead on a track, the highly layered and sophisticated “Wish it Away;” proving that Synchronized is an album that involved everybody’s special touch one way or the other. The entire record is a prime example of the direction mainstream music ‘should’ go, there aren’t overzealous ‘Goth’ elements nor is this band trying to be a clone of anybody else; and when you zone in on the progressive rock connotations, there are no wild instrumentations or jam sessions; hands down, Dial delivers lush & catchy melodies with boldness, instead of trying to pack too much nonsense into fifty two minutes.
www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1211

Dial is a new group made up of former Pain of Salvationer Kristoffer Gildenlow, the stunningly gorgeous Liselotte Hegt and Rommert van der Meer. This curious mix of Swedes and Dutch got together back in 2003 cos they wanted, no, needed to make some music...I do love this album, and I do love it when an album creeps un all unexpected on you like this one did, amongst all the Blackfields, Marillions and Porcupine Trees, this one escaped unheralded like a fart in a lift, but one that smells of roses. Like two of the other three.
www.silhobbit.com/silweb/albumreviews/dial%20-%20synchronized.htm

..In fact - that's one of the overriding feelings you're left with ... wrap these songs around a story, and you'd have a convincing concept piece - complete with wonderful song-to-song variety, approachable anthemic choruses, delicate instrumentation accompanying soft, emotive male vocals - it's all there. "Jewel" has a Tori Amos like vocal line over an elegant piano motif, "Candyland" starts off sounding like Kate Bush then swells into a huge chorus that would be at home on London's West End. "Hello" could have been a Paatos piece - elegant and quirky, with male and female vocals in a duet. And Childhood Dreams is one of the standouts, with soft male vocals - half whispered, half sung with perfect control and a melody line that recalls parts of Deep Purple's classic "Child In Time"...
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=5193

Dutch review
www.prog-nose.org/metal-nose/nederlands/albums%202007/dial_synchronized.htm

Interview with band
www.metalperspective.com/interviews/dial.php

... Let’s just say, that this album could very well compare to the likes of ULVER, but not in terms of music or compositions, but rather in terms of unpredictability and experimentation. You just don’t know what will hit you next, and in fact you can’t even imagine! For me, this is an excellent album, and I guess for the more hardcore fans, who like experimentations and more underground material this will certainly satisfy even the most demanding connoisseur. This album will not appeal to everyone, but those lucky few who will enjoy it, will most certainly experience something truly unique.
www.metal-invader.com/db/reviews-4003.html

French review
www.musicinbelgium.net/pl/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=2012

Dutch review
www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=9684

German review
www.rocktimes.de/gesamt/d/dial/synchronized.html

Dutch review
www.fileunder.nl/archives/2007/06/dial_synchronized.php

...How refreshing it is, to find a really different approach on music. This new approach is named Dial and has released a very interesting and 'different' debut album, Synchronized. Dial is formed by three mucians: Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex-Pain of Salvation), Liselotte Hegt and Rommert van der Meer (both ex- Cirrha Niva), all living in the Netherlands. All of them play various instruments and bring different influences and inspirations together. The result is a very enjoyable and out of the ordinary debut album...
www.elrose.co.uk/CD_Reviews/body_dial_cds.html#Synch

German review
www.obliveon.de/pn-om/modules.php?op=modload&name=tplcdimport&file=index&req=showcontent&id=10184

...At least in the press kit, Dial is presented as an alternative rock act. I have no idea whether the band themselves actually disassociate their work from Progressive, but although the eleven songs on this CD are all instantly accessible, some elements of that genre can be found on each, unless one prefers to overlook those, due to the predictability of most of this music. I would have probably acted the same way if I only hadn't known the roots that most of these so to speak sprouts have grown from and not enjoyed those either. With the deduction of the brief Nature's Cruelty, which is both musically and lyrically nothing other than a lullaby (performed by Lilo of course), the album can easily be divided into three parts. Imagine a cross between the 25-th Floor from "Wildhoney" and a statistically average song from "A Deeper Kind of Slumber" by Sweden's Tiamat, then mix the result with some straightforwardness typical of that band's later releases, and you'll be halfway to having an idea of the tunes whose vocal palette is only painted with, well, Daniel's singing (which is rarely monochromatic though)...
www.progressor.net/review/dial_2007.html

...One thing that really surprised me was the power Hegt & Gildenlöw holds in their voices and the power they create in the powerful vocal-harmonies. The melodies are powerful, filled with grace and a rare sophisticated beauty. It shows (on every single track) that this release has taken almost 4 years to complete. Van Der Meer is a very gifted guitarist with a unique technique. Even on the most intimate tracks his playing is tight, like a summers breathe. But he also covers the more powerful and heavy sound when needed, which make him quit unique, I think. The overall sound is amazing and the guest invited here do it excellent, especially the drummer; Dirk Bruinenberg who have recorded/played with Patrick Rondat. But still the most gratifying is the interplay which is absolutely beautiful and it shows that the members of Dial are excellent musicians & composers. On a special note you should take extra notice to Gildelöws fantastic bass-lines/playing. It’s out of this world. Dial has a sound of their own, covering almost every aspect of music. It’s very difficult to point out any fav. tracks because I simply love’m all. Also being a sucker for emotional, beautiful music (and music that touches my heart deeply) makes “Synchronized” a great and welcome addition to my “mind & soul”. An excellent album from an excellent new band I think most progsters will treasure dearly in there collection.
www.progplanet.com/index.php?categoryid=31&p2_articleid=473

German review
www.heavy-metal.de/?id=10266

From its originating notes, this was not at all what I expected. At first, the clinks and clangs sounded closer to The Art of Noise than a Pain of Salvation offshoot. Then I was ambushed by a female voice. This is not to say I didn't like the odd effects or effeminate tones. To the contrary, I was immediately intrigued by this malleable substance. It appeared to be a transmogrification of Pain of Salvation intently knitted with a modest hint of Evanescence. To further groom the sweater, it was honed with a husky yarn of Paatos sown into its burly canvas. With Kristoffer Gildenlöw on the roster, I expected his brother Daniel to chime in. Alas, this never happened; yet, a male voice with similar intonations eventually surfaced. For the record, Kristoffer was one of two leads, which explains this tantric texture. Liselotte 'Lilo' Hegt (ex-Cirrah Niva) was the other cantor. This awesome twosome traded off between numbers like singers in a musical or crochet needles in a cross-stitched pattern...
www.progressiveworld.net/html/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=2724

Interview with band
www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5864

Dutch interview
www.progwereld.org/progvizier/progvizier45.htm

Spanish review
manticornio.com/rock-progresivo/D/DIAL/synchronized.html

Italian interview with Kristoffer
www.kronic.it/artGet.aspx?aID=1&sID=1698

Italian review
www.manticornio.com/rock-progresivo/D/DIAL/synchronized.html

...Big part of the variety on Synchronized is the use of two vocalists as Gildenlöw and Hegt take the vocal duties in turn thus creating a rather interesting diversity. Result of this is that the songs vary much in style so that the album demands an open-minded audience to please. Still the album doesn’t strike me as patchy in spite of the differences in musical styles. The overall atmosphere is a bit melancholic. But as I think some songs are very strong, particularly the more progressive ones, others leave me totally cold. Especially the arty and more experimental tracks are not my cup of tea. Liselotte Hegt has a way of singing that makes me think of Kate Bush and sometimes Hannah Stobart (The Wishing Tree). Hegt has a very distinct and charismatic vocal sound. The songs that are sung by Kristoffer Gildenlöw remind me of Riverside or the mellow Opeth apart from the link to Pain Of Salvation in the vocals. Gildenlöw puts some very tasteful lead guitar in a couple of songs that further enhance their appeal...
www.dprp.net/reviews/200736.php#dial

Italian review
www.kronic.it/artGet.aspx?aID=2&sID=15198

French review
www.progressivewaves.com/frmChronique.aspx?ALB_ID=2226

...Featuring layered vocals, and intensity building hooks, "Sadness" is really an incredible song. They also use a Mellotron flute sound to great effect during the verses. Gildenlow proves he has good vocal skills as well, and now that he isn't faded out in the background of the music, you can really hear how great his voice is. Liselotte Hegt's vocal performance is equally pleasing. She uses more of a jazz or blues-based vocal style that works quite well within the music. The songwriting is incredible. Dial’s not deep into the prog like mid-period Pain of Salvation, as they use many more straight-forward, rockin' riffs and more experimental progressions that include very strange uses of minor chords...
www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/complete_iss54.htm

French review
www.progressive-area.com/dial-synchronized.htm

...While the vocals (both in style and tone) in Jewel, in perfect match with the piano driven musicality bring the band very close to Tori Amos early works (the distorted guitar is just a bonus here), the shape changing Candyland sounds more like a mix between a West End Musical Soundtrack and something coming out of Queen’s A Day at the Races. This could already give you an idea of the diversity that also exists in this album. But the list can go on a tad further, if I just point out the slight Paatos-like harmonies and emotional canvas in Hello and Wounded (this last with more Tori Amos-like vocals) , the 70’s Hard Rock tingled Childhood Dreams with touching lyrics spoken and sung with just the perfect tone and attitude...This is an excellent album, a very promising debut for a band that is composed by known and experienced musicians, perfectly capable of delivering more outstanding music (such as this) in the future.
www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=21696