DAWN AHEAD „Fallen Anthems”

Art Gates Records, 2021

Music: Thrash Metal
Website: https://www.facebook.com/dawnaheadofficial/
Duration: 59:31 (11 tracks)
Country: Germany

The band DAWN AHEAD was founded in 2011 by five music enthusiasts, residents of the charming town of Ginsheim-Gustavburg, located in Hesse, close to where the River Main flows into the Rhine.

Before releasing the album, the German quintet released only two CD-Ep. I liked “Fallen Anthems” on average for the first time, but next ones auditions make me more pleasure. The type of music on which this album is primarily based is thrash metal – fast, sometimes more raw, sometimes more motor, although not as aggressive as e.g. in the case of KREATOR.

But the ideas of the Germans do not end there. Thrash is often intertwined with metal-hardcore, heavy doom-like climates, brutal more or less black-metal, there are also heavy-metal and heavy-thrash fragments. We will also find moments – especially the intros to the songs – gentle, melancholic, mysterious.

The vocals adapt to these conventions – we find clean singing on the disc, also similar to that used in hardcore, also black croak, low and very low growl. The singer is not technically sophisticated, he uses his voice simply, but thanks to this variety he brings a lot to the musical message.

The most interesting instrumentalists in the group are guitarists. They give sound compositions “a meat” and create simple but interesting melodies and a multitude of multi-colored, catchy solos.

DAWN AHEAD boldly mixes different styles and makes it a coherent whole. It also mixes the richness of the soul’s moods: vitality, frustration, hatred, depression, tension. But such a combination of various styles is a sign of today’s times – not only in metal music, but also in other genres of music and in artistic creation in general.

Despite numerous influences, Germany has its own perspective on playing, a certain originality. It seems to me that the band is just beginning their way, they can do much more, which may be show on the next releases. What I wish him with all my heart. For now, it is worth listening to “Fallen Anthems”, full of life and fire.

Tracklist:
1.Death Roll
2.State of Mind
3.Suffer
4.Anthem of the Fallen
5.I Command
6.Among the Blind
7.Shot At Dawn
8.All I Have To Do
9.Pride
10.Summon the Black
11.Excess