BEFORE THE DAWN – “RISE OF THE PHOENIX”
NUCLEAR BLAST (2012)
Before The Dawn is a thirteen year old band which has always ended up falling beneath my radar somehow, even though a close friend of mine has prompted me many times over the years to give them a chance. It was the same friend who informed me that the band’s latest studio album “Rise Of The Phoenix” was, much to his personal disappointment, the product of a different line up and that the combination of clear and brutal vocals which characterised the band’s earliest work was a thing of the past. Feeling intrigued, I decided to give this nine track release a listen. The result?
There are two bands whose works can be described as having massively influenced the music of Before The Dawn. From their fellow-countrymen Amorphis, this Finnish quartet has borrowed an amazing sense of melody, while from their neighbouring Swedes Dark Tranquillity – both the sound and the need to build their compositions upon up-tempo rhythmical riffs. The average duration of the songs is no more than four minutes and the fact that they all feature really catchy melodic themes I sure to impress quite early on – this being the positive thing about the album. On a slightly negative note, however, after a few more spins you will probably feel like you have been listening to variations of the same song, with only a handful of compositions offering something slightly different.
The one and a half minute instrumental piece “Exordium” provides a nice atmospheric introduction and is followed by the heavy riffed “Pitch-Black Universe” – a truly enjoyable track. There may not be much separating songs like “Phoenix Rising” and “Cross To Bear”, however they are both quite enjoyable, but it is really the head banging riffs and atmospheric background orchestrations of “Throne Of Ice” that stand out as the highlights of the first part of the album. The second part consists of more songs of the Amorphis-meets-Dark Tranquillity formula such as “Perfect Storm” and “Fallen World”, but it just so happens to also hold an ace up its sleeve, the five and a half minute “Eclipse”. This is the first time on this album that a song offers real musical variety and together with the closing melodies of the highly-emotional “Closure”, they promise better things to come.
I am not quite sure what the band’s long term fans will make of this album, whether they will be disappointed like my good friend or be impressed by its honesty and quality of execution, but for people like me who are only now being introduced to the Finnish quartet, “Rise Of The Phoenix” is both an enjoyable offering and a good starting point. It may not be the most innovative melodic Death Metal release that I have ever come across but, when in the mood for such music, I am sure that it will fully entertain me. Now, let’s see what their past releases are all about!
John Stefanis
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)
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