Artist: Dawn Of Ashes
Title: Genocide Chapters
Type: Album
Label: Metal Blade

Dawn Of Ashes hail from the city of angels, a place known to be full of vacuous popularity-seeking trend-obsessed halfwits, with whom the deepest conversation you’re likely to have is about rhinoplasty. A part of me likes to think that the world of metal is exempt from such Hollywood-itis but then you only have to think back to Motley Crue (just replace rhinoplasty with chicks, hairspray and whiskey) to know that is not the case. Dawn Of Ashes began life as an EBM outfit and released two albums plus a couple of demos, before a sudden drastic turn in 2008 when they announced they were “moving into the metal scene.” Now I just have to question the motives of a band that makes such a sudden shift in their sound, that goes from playing EBM on a relatively small independent industrial label, to playing black/death metal and instantly scoring a deal with Metal Blade.

Interestingly enough, there isn’t a trace of EBM or industrial influence to be found here either. Perhaps the most glaring comparison that does come across is a kind of flimsy Emperor imitation, or perhaps Midian-era Cradle Of Filth – the introduction to ‘Transformation Within Fictional Mutation’ reminds me quite a bit of Amor E Morte with the haunting (only just, in a very unthreatening kind of way) Gothic keyboard that builds a bit of intrigue before the scything riffs come thrashing in. ‘London's Anthem For The Pleasure Of Mutilation’ again has a hint of CoF about it, with vocals sounding Dani-esque in places while musically galloping forth with a limp sounding keyboard melody hovering overhead. Occasionally the keyboards add a nice Gothic touch, however they often have that aforementioned limpness and doesn’t promote the level of atmosphere I suspect they might be aiming for. The guitars on ‘The Ancient Draining Room’ are bludgeoningly heavy and verge on the hardcore with a Hatebreed-esque riff.

According to the bands MySpace, Kristof Bathory is in charge of “horrid screams” which I’d semi-agree with. While not entirely horrid, they are pretty generic and dull ranging from a lifeless, half-assed rasp to a deathly growl. This album makes an attempt at a commercial sound, although seems lacking in genuine ideas rather too happy to tread where others have previously gone. I can’t imagine this appealing to many serious metal fans, rather this is a kind of “extreme metal for beginners” that may act as a starting block for 13 year olds to hopefully discover some better stuff within the wider arena of black and death metal. I seriously doubt there’ll be many ashes to clear up, as this is highly unlikely to set the world on fire.

http://www.myspace.com/dawnofashes