It can be quite disheartening to see a band like Dawn Of Tears who have been around for a decade and, now on their fourth CD, remain unsigned. Their debut full length, Descent, was released as a free offering to fans in 2007 and considering the kind of praise it received it’s a wonder how these have managed to slip through my radar for so long. I have to say that I’m not often one to champion newcomers to the melodeath genre and upon receiving this I was initially in two minds; sure, the cover looks rather intriguing, but with the press release telling me to file under melodic death metal, I held off getting too excited about this.
Nevertheless, upon pressing play I was pleasantly surprised. Rather than the boring In Flames clones I was half expecting, my ears were greeted by a varied assault that to label melodeath simply gives only half the justice it deserves. Sure enough, this owes a fair old bit to the likes of Dark Tranquillity, and while they reside in sunny Spain one has to wonder if there isn’t any Gothenburg in their blood. Opener ‘Cadent Beating’ lives up to its name as the drumming pounds away in a plangent manner, storming away in unison with the Swedish sounding riffs while the flowing melodies are laid down atop the mix. The keyboards here are suitably symphonic, albeit in an uncheesy way and I particularly like the haunting atmosphere they leave as they swish around in the mix; as their collide with the gothic sounding female vocals there are shades of Midian era Cradle Of Filth that shimmer through projecting a ghost in the fog.
‘Mr. Jarrod’ has an equally deathly quality to the riffs while ‘Since They’re Gone’ has a nice gothic thread of sadness weaved through the sturdy tapestry. With its emotive, yet gruff male vocals I particularly like this song and while I’m certain this is an original track, I can’t help but get that feeling of familiarity while listening to this. The melodic guitars on ‘As My Autumn Withers’ (sounds like that should be a My Dying Bride song to me!) really carry the song along beautifully, and while bearing little resemblance to said doomsters, they certainly put across that air of tragic loss in this track. The operatic female vocals are particularly appealing on ‘Winds Of Despair’ and harmonise well with the raspy male vocals, and has quite an epic feel.
Overall this is a very enjoyable E.P. The production is spot on, the songs are well constructed and there’s an even balance between furious heaviness and melancholic passion. Expect another full length from the band in late 2009/10 and hopefully they will get the recognition they deserve.
http://www.myspace.com/dawnoftears
http://www.dawnoftears.com
