Before the Dawn – Deathstar Rising (2011)

Multi-instrumentalist Tuomas Saukkonen returns with another excellent Before the Dawn release. Fusing Melodic Death Metal and Gothic Metal, Before the Dawn has been gaining popularity over the years and with “Deathstar Rising”, they set the bar even higher.

Besides Tuomas brilliant songwriting skills, the bass guitar and clean vocal talents of Lars Eikind greatly complement the band’s sound. Not being to ‘weak’ for regular Metal people, and without being extremely harsh, “Deathstar Rising” is a release that fits right in the middle between aggressive and melodic Metal released.

Setting the mood with “The First Snow”, Before the Dawn will surely blow you away once all elements come together in the next track “Winter Within”. Here we get lush and catchy guitars, brilliant drumming, and a heavenly mixture of harsh vocals with contrasting clean section. The overall epic feeling of this song is unparalleled and this is just the beginning.

Our favorite song of the album comes with the name “Deathstar”, in this song the band crafts a very addictive melody and the vocal chorus section makes it even more magical. The power of the guitars and drums mixed between the harsh vocals and clean vocals creates a very unique sound that unmistakably identifies Before the Dawn and their melodic greatness.

“Judgement” is the song that most resembles the band’s previous album (“Soundscape of Silence”). The start of this song might even make you believe you are listening to some alternative rock/metal band, this shows how versatile the band can be. The ‘Doomier’ track “The Wake” changes things up a bit, and while featuring pounding guitars; it feels darker and less intrusive.

Our second favorite track has to be “Sanctuary” and its melodic/acoustic passages. Here we get great clean vocal passages paired with very effective songwriting. The track while maintains a similarity to the rest in terms of the riffing, it feels somewhat different due to the focus on letting the clean vocals breathe between all the other elements.

Many people might say that the band is a one-trick-pony and that it has between re-hashing their older albums over and over. We beg to differ in the sense that with each release, the band has been consolidating their sound and creating a very effective approach to Melodic Metal. The riffing and drumming is always powerful and with the contrast offered by Eikind’s clean pipes and Tuomas growls, the band creates excellent songs. Very recommendable release if you are a fan of the band’s earlier work.

Release: February 25th, 2011 (Europe) and May 3rd, 2011 (North America)

Country: Finland