Review Summary: The true heir to Dissection's throne.
Dawn is a melodic blackened death metal band from Sweden that shares a lot in common with the now defunct Dissection. They sound almost like a carbon copy of the legendary band, but with a few notable differences. One being that their songs are composed a lot more loosely, and the other major difference being that they are a LOT more minimalistic.
Composition and carefully placed riffs is where I grant most of the points. The lengthened songs and lax compositions allow the music to breathe and evolve in a smoother and much more subtle manner than the sometimes abrupt Dissection. Take Malediction Murder for example- it clearly has a structure that unravels itself into a bombastic climax, but the band take their sweet time in building up the atmosphere before unleashing a can of whoop ass at the end. Take note that I never mentioned building up 'tension', because their music has none. There's only a spacey and almost easy-listening atmosphere to the album. The songs are ferocious, but they also have a contemplative quality to them. This seemingly strange paradox is precisely the reason why I gave this album such a high rating. It retains the old aesthetics of second wave black metal in balancing the feral and the meditative through careful composition. Where Dissection can seem a little pretentious at times with their neo-classical twists and turns, Dawn take their time in building up the substance in the music, creating a lengthened echo of Dissection's essence while injecting their own melancholy and melodramatic twist. I like to see this album as Dissection in an alternate universe where they push their sound to the very limits, stretching their Baroque infused blackened melo-death sound into a more epic and matured form.
The production also makes me chuckle a little bit when I think about the Dissection comparisons this band is subjected to- it sounds amazingly similar to the echoey , spacious, and well produced sound of Storm of the Light's Band, albeit a little exaggerrated. The guitars could use a little more variety other than mirroring each other. The bass is actually a little more prominent this time- taking a huge part in creating a thin wall of sound that compliments the echoes quite nicely. The drums are straightforward but competently done, and the vocals are standard black metal fare, although done with a little more chutzpah and hatred than your average vocalist. He kind of reminds of Zao's singer with lots of phlegm and jived up on Red Bull. :/
There a special sort of apocalyptic beauty to Dawn's music that Dissection lacks. It's a sprawling and immense experience in music. Yes, it's a bit trying in the length department at times, but the payoff is really rewarding. Highly recommended.
