Dawnbringer - Three Soldiers Standing/Night of the Sinner EP (2011)

This was a weird little ditty to drop between Dawnbringer's two epic heavy metal albums Nucleus and Into the Lair of the Sun God, since it's a pair of unreleased tunes from back in the days shortly after Unbleed was released. As such, you can expect a much rawer style, and in fact, the mix on these is so disheveled and demo-level that it makes that debut album sound like it was recorded in an AAA studio by comparison. That does also limit my enjoyment a little, since the beats sound like a couple cans being slapped, the bass is just present on the edge of perception, and the overall effect is a little cringe. However, the guitars do sound pretty damn good, you can hear the brightness of the leads against the bustle of rhythm guitars performing a hybrid of heavy, speed, and melodic black metal, and the vocals are nasty in a good way, creating their own contrast against the cleaner backups belting out the choruses. Hell, they sound better than they did on the Sacrament EP, although I think the mix on that was overall much cleaner than this.

As for the songs themselves, they're both pretty good. They're not as rustic or melodic sounding or escapist as Unbleed, these have a more urban, aggressive, violent feel to them, with a bigger influence from thrash metal twisting into the other styles from that record. Granted, there are moments like the breakout rhythm in "Three Soldiers Standing" where it would have fit right in, but these feel more like they were being developed for a more asphalt-tearing sophomore effort that never quite manifest. The mix holds me back from giving this a higher recommendation, but if you did enjoy Unbleed, or if you like a lot of old demos from the first few waves of melodic death and black metal, or maybe some of the bands coming out through Invasion records back in the mid to late 90s, then this digital/7" release could be worth a listen. It's an artifact, for sure, and I think the songs could actually benefit from a re-recording if the band ever went back to that style. However, for anyone else who hasn't already heard Dawnbringer, the three full-lengths I mentioned in this very review are the better starting points. 

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

Dawnbringer - Nucleus (2010)

Four years and one deal with the budding Profound Lore records later, and Dawnbringer returned with a much more professional, refined sound that leaned far deeper into their heavy metal influences. Granted, the melodies and harmonies were always there in the guitars, and you can certainly trace some of the content here back to the last three discs, but the song structures definitely seem more brazenly epic, inspired by a lot of the NWOBHM classics, but with the same urgency and speed they applied to a lot of their black metal stuff. I also hear some comparisons to the cult US heavy metal gods Manilla Road, there's a similar sense or adventure being told though the guitars, though the production here is probably a lot more accessible, and certainly better than In Sickness and In Dreams.

Still a two-piece here, and Chris has converted his vocals more to that dirtier style he used on the last album, only here the intonation works better against the music, more of a humble blue collar bludgeon against the constant barrage of heavy metal melody. What if Lemmy fronted Iron Maiden. That sort of sound, and while his delivery is not going to win any prizes, it does tend to function within this context. But the songs are just more robust and striving, inspirational in places like "Swing Hard" and the glorious, moody, atmospheric "Pendulum" which ends off the record with some vocal lines that remind me of "Astronomy Domine". They try their hands at pure Sabbath-style doom in "Old Wizard", and it works, Chris using a little bit of a higher, more forceful pitch to match the weight of the riffs. "You Know Me" is jammy, proggy and Rush influenced, while the end of the bridge in "The Devil" brings them right back around to some of their most intense material off the older albums, the blasting drums used to create a pummeling atmosphere which supports the feedback-driven guitars vaulting over them.

A few of the tunes, "All I See" and "Like an Earthquake", might also come across as more melancholic alternatives to the style he'd use in High Spirits. Nucleus definitely messes around and explores, about as much as the prior album, so I did come away from this with the same sense of growing pains. However, it almost all works well within the milieu of this particular record, and what's more, the individual songs here are much better than they were on either In Sickness... or Catharsis Instinct. But this is the real 'flex point' where they became more of a heavy/epic metal band as their defining trait. With the Profound Lore visibility and all-around improvements, it's no wonder this was the record that put Dawnbringer on a lot of radars, and rightfully so; it's one of the first I'll reach for when I'm not in the mood for the rustic melo-black of Unbleed, and also one of the first I'd recommend to newcomers, or honestly any fans of heavy metal or heavy/prog metal.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

Dawnbringer - In Sickness and in Dreams (2006)

In Sickness and Dreams is somewhat of a continuation of Catharsis Instinct, but also somewhat of an identity crisis, one of the more unusual albums in the Dawnbringer catalogue. It's characterized by a lot of very short songs, few over two minutes in length, and though Chris and Scott still manage to pack in a lot of ideas, I rarely felt as if they were fleshed out enough to really grasp onto them. The core style here is still melodic black and death metal, perhaps leaning more towards the latter due to the vocals, but it's also got some cleaner vocals, soothing or even hypnotic in parts, and a few straight heavy metal leanings which will foreshadow where they'll be ending up down the road. The opening piece, "Scream and Run", seems to portend a proggier, psychedelic style, and that does appear a few times, but it's more of a tease for later records.

The production on this thing is dingy, and that's one of my biggest issues. Chris is using a more croaked, death metal vocal and it sort of disintegrates against some of the guitars, almost like he's not putting enough force into the inflection or it's just mixed terribly. Sometimes it comes across breathy, and when he's using the cleaner vocals it can almost sound like Lemmy ("There and Back") chilling out behind the guitars, or brought to mind the later Swedish band Bombus ("Under No Flag").. It's a strange contrast with the blazing, melodic guitars, which definitely prove highlights on the records with a lot of riffs that sent a lot of the trendier Swedish death-inspired US metalcore bands home on a stretcher. However, there are some weird sections where they just keep jamming on the same repetitive notes, like almost the whole shorter tune "You Get Nothing" or the end of "Hell is a Desert", strange choices that feel like they almost exist on the album solely to floss out the listener's brain or palate.

It gets weirder..."11:58" has Rob Halford style power vocals, sounding like some sort of mock tribute, and then morphing into faster acoustic guitars. "Death in Time" is a 16 second fugue with a little doom lick that shouldn't have even been bothered with. Both feel unnecessary. On the other hand, there are some fun tracks deeper into the list, like "Attack of the Spiders" with some great speedy NWOBHM licks, or "Endless Guilt" which is a catchy melo-death tune with some organs in there. Overall, the music is pretty solid, I just wish there had been less songs, more focus making the better ones more substantial, and a brighter mix that would have benefited them. Some of the vocals here are my second least favorite after the Sacrament EP, and while the whole album clocks in at 24 minutes, and you never get a chance to get bored, the overall production is just underwhelming. Like an experimental EP sending out feelers for where Dawnbringer would adventure next. Some great riffs keep it hovering just above the precipice of mediocrity, but it's not one of their better offerings.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

Dawnbringer - Catharsis Instinct (2000)

Three years later, Catharsis Instinct answers some of the production shortcomings of Unbleed, with a louder, fatter, more straightforward mix more representative of more mainstream extreme metal in its era, but musically this feels quite close to the debut. The emphasis is on the driving melodic, harmonized passages, lead breaks, shuffling if not terribly powerful drum beats, and black metal vocals. You can hear Chris Black getting a little more comfortable with the playing here as he busts out some more traditional heavy metal/hard rock leads, but there's no obnoxious wanking or showing off whatsoever, they always seem to service the song they are splashed over. The acoustics are also still pretty important as they create the biggest contrasts on the record, but I did not find them as tasty as those on the debut, even in their better moments like the "Bleeding City" interlude they are just a forgettable support for the melodies.

I think one issue this has it 12 songs, about half of them doing the same sort of style of the debut, and then the rest are headed off into more thrashing or death/metal territory, like "Halfman" or "Mudslicer" which occasionally border on a less brash At the Gates sound. They still have their moments mind you, or even "What Are You Running From?" which reminds me of In Flames at the turn of the millennium, maybe a little Edge of Sanity circa Purgatory Afterflow or Infernal. Chris had been joined by another guitarist for this one, longtime member Scott Hoffman, and the pair are certainly adept at exploring all these more trendy sounds, especially with their penchant for the melodies and leads, but I do feel as if part of this record is headed down the wrong direction, away from that blindingly melodic stuff that captured my imagination in the first place. Another thing is that I feel the vocals get sort of crushed by the guitars in a lot of places, they're a little deeper and less raspy than on the last album and I think, especially when the guitars get the most melodic, they are just drowned between them.

There are a few other new touches, like the cleaner howling vocals on "Cosmos Disease", a pretty cool tune with the proggy keys too, and this is obviously something Chris will explore a lot more in his other bands later. So it's unquestionable that this is a progression from Unbleed, a modernization of the style that keeps holding on to large chunks of its past, and though I like most of what's here, and certainly the production level is a welcome upgrade, the songs themselves are often a mixed bag, and maybe in an ironic twist, that cleaner sound might have sapped away some of the atmosphere that I found myself lost in. At any rate, Catharsis Instinct has its moments; it's one of my less favorite albums in their backlog, but there's plenty of creativity and evolution left in this band's future. Might just take a few tries.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

Dawnbringer - Unbleed (1997)

Full disclosure: Unbleed is my favorite Dawnbringer album, but that does come with a few caveats. The production here leaves a lot to be desired, and I realize that eventually their style drifts far away enough from this debut full-length to almost seem like an entirely different band, so some listeners that might never have heard it, and joined in on their more directly heavy-metal oriented efforts, might be surprised. But this is the first album I picked up in a bargain bin at the place my friends and I would grab import metal CDs, with its curious, idyllic nature scene and waterfall, and despite thinking the mix was thin even back in the 90s, I was instantly smitten by the passionate contrast of ear-bleeding riff melodicism, atmosphere, and rasping vocals. I remember sharing this with one of my bandmates from that era (also on guitars) and I think the playing here might even have rubbed off on both of us.

It's still the same style as the Sacrament EP, which I only encountered 25 years after this, with passages of driving melodic black metal interspersed with flourishes of classical acoustic guitars, and this time out they dropped the stupid, boxed off vocal effects, for a more effective and traditional black metal rasp, and added in some tasteful touches of organ in tunes like "Waterbreath" that really elevate them. I'll say this now, if it had a slightly bulkier mix and some actual visibility, Unbleed might have been a record that fans of vintage In Flames or Dark Tranquillity would have attached to immediately, possibly Dissection, and I'd even wonder if later groups like the excellent Obsequiae had ever heard this, because there is that same sense for centralized melodicism in both, even though the execution isn't quite the same. Now, the mix isn't even really that bad, the guitars, beats and organs all mingle seamlessly, the acoustics tasteful and elegant. The bass isn't super standout here (neither on the EP) but you can hear it cruising below like a faster take on Steve Harris, simply subordinate to the bristling melodies in tunes like "Witness", which ironically also have a strong Iron Maiden influence.

But it's all a little narrow in tone, so some of the depth to the songwriting and guitar tone has to come in through the listener's imagination, which it does, but had this been beefed up then it might have wound up in a lot more stereos and headphones. Also, though the vocals are improved, when you listen up closely they still don't seem to be recorded perfectly, and they can come off a little overbearing next to the instruments, but nowhere soiling my admiration for this disc. It's not entirely a one-man show this time, I believe Chris had picked up another guitarist, and they work well in tandem, and it's really this excellent little US melodic black metal gem that I'm not sure many have even listened to. It seems like that whole scene was ushered over to the States by all the hardcore/metalcore bands that heard Slaughter of the Soul and then changed their styles to match, but in fact we already had Dawnbringer and a few others at the vanguard (and frankly, a lot better). You'll note that I love a lot of this band's output, but Unbleed has that personal connection which maintains the top spot for me.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

Dawnbringer - Sacrament EP (1996)

Before deciding to run through Dawnbringer's catalog and offer some thoughts, I'd never even heard the Sacrament EP. I wasn't even aware that it existed. But here it is, one of (if not THE) first releases from the prolific Chris Black, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist that would go on to at least a half dozen excellent bands including Aktor, Superchrist, High Spirits and even a stint in Pharaoh. Dawnbringer would clearly be seen as one of the more extreme projects in his canon, a sort of heavy and black metal fusion which wasn't too out of place with a lot of the Scandinavian melodic black or death metal acts of the mid-90s. This initial EP is a strange one, as it mixes some fairly well produced riffs with shoddy, effects-ridden vocals and lots of acoustic guitars.

The last of those excel out of the starting gates in the opening instrumental, relished with some weird ambient sounds and pianos. Then we're treated some driving melodic riffs that were probably pretty tasty for melo-death/black fans at that time, and barking, semi-BM vocals which have an unfortunate effect on them that feels like it was ported over from a telephone call or tape recorded, and they kind of spoil the rest of the mix which is admittedly smooth. The acoustics are lush, the drums are well executed though if they're a machine or not it fools me, and the bass is present if not a major factor. It's really those faster electric guitars which are the highlight here and setup for what was to come later. I'm assuming that Chris plays ALL the instruments on this, I know at least two of the three band pseudonyms are attributed to him and having heard his guitar work later, that's probably him too, but regardless, this EP is really only compelling to me as a historical artifact establishing the excellence that would follow. "Sacrament" and "In a Handful of Dust" have some strong riffing material, shredding and atmosphere but still feel a bit 'demo' or incomplete due to the beats and vocals.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

Creeping Fear - Realm of the Impaled (2025)

I wasn't super familiar with Creeping Fear going into this third album. I recognized the demonic mascot, perhaps I'd sampled an earlier song or two in the past, but Realm of the Impaled is probably my first complete exposure, and they struck me for having a sound that, on the surface might be meat & potatoes death metal, but reminds me a lot of USDM stuff emerging in the 90s, particularly Immolation. Maybe not like those New Yorkers at their most rhythmically weird or extreme, but more like where they started to transition to that after Dawn of Possession. You've got the fundamentals here like the guttural vocals, chugging and chunky death metal foundation, and then lots of slightly adventurous little twists  and turns through the guitar-work, while the drumming is just pretty sick all around and helps meaty the whole production up.

I suppose there are also a lot of monolithic grooves here reminiscent of Morbid Angel as well, like in "Demonic Ascent" when that more atmospheric intro just erupts into a chugging wall of force, or "Torture Wheel" which might have felt at home on Domination; but it's really the details of how the guitars are being played that piqued my interest, lots of pinches and squeals that create a canvas of extremity to accompany the concussion of the tireless drummer. The vocals have a pretty standard nihilistic sustain to the growling, not highly interesting but certainly function, especially where he belts out a growl over the more complex structure of the riffing, or where a lead guitar starts to spit out, and these are also handled tastefully. Weird and jazzy and alien just like the rhythm-work. The riffs are multitude, I can't promise that many of them catchy as opposed to functional, but there is no shortage of them throughout this abusive, 35 minute discourse, it's jam-packed for that playtime and at the very least I can say you'll never be bored.

Does this stand out with the greats? Perhaps not yet, but Creeping Fear have all the ingredients that would be required, they just need more exposure and to continue their course, layering in even more musicality and some more memorable individual riffs would go a long way. But they've got the drumming, the primal vocal savagery, the endless array of guitars, rhythmic versatility in spades, killer leads (especially in "Et ils se couvrirent de gloire"), and most importantly, a good atmosphere, all settled into a great production that lets you capture the whole experience. I don't focus in on French death metal as much as I do the black, but these guys are easily one of the stronger I've heard, and we're not talking Gojira but highly Florida/NY-influenced stuff, maybe a little earlier Gorguts with that Immolation, lots of effort and a reliable spin.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://creepingfear.bandcamp.com/

Khôra - Ananke (2025)

Khôra's hauntingly psychedelic-looking debut Timaeus was a pretty interesting entrant into the more dissonant and modern black metal field established by bands like Blut Aus Nord, there was a warmer and progressive vibe about that record that rewarded with repeat listens. The successor, Ananke, has a much starker appearance, but with that golden spear-tongue. In fact, the album starts off giving the brief impression it's going for a more traditional, blistering black metal aesthetic with the opening moments of "Empyreal Spindle", but very soon you're hearing those zipping bass-lines and flourishes of synthesizer, vocals that don't remain only in the rasp-territory but also explore some deeper gutturals, cleaner chants and then the tune gets proggy deep after the bridge.

And that's par for the course here, the sort of 'sheep-in-wolf's clothing' approach where the conventional BM aesthetics are merely a disguise for their more adventurous ideas, though I don't mean this as any sort of criticism; in fact, the opposite, for this is what keeps Ananke so compelling. They can blast and sneer along with the vilest of them, but taken in as a whole, there's just that exploratory subtext which you feel can turn in any direction at any moment, and usually manifests quickly and keeps you bewildered before it moves on to the next period of storm-surge drumming and utterly hostile black metal vocals. It's a lot to take in, whether the little death metal breaks in "Wrestling with the Gods", or the operatic orchestral maneuvers of the "Arcane Creation" interlude, the amazing intro to "Supernal Light" with those fresh, jangling, eerie guitars and the bass-lines that remind me of Voivod. The Germans can venture out into almost any territory...

And they're good at all of them, whether the cleaner Arcturus-like vocals or the detailed instrumentation, this is certainly one of the more technical bands in that German black metal scene, but it never comes across as excessive or self-indulgent, all of the little twists and turns the record takes serve the music, and thus it's just as strong as its predecessor, but with superior production where the little nuances become more obvious. They approach this off-kilter black metal style differently than their French counterparts, and I'm hearing almost infinite potential just from the first two works. Put them on your radars, because if they continue at this consistently, you'll be hearing of them anyway.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://khoraband.bandcamp.com/album/m-lenkij-robot-demo-2016

Darkenhöld - Le fléau du rocher (2025)

While they're still not very well known outside of their home region,  Darkenhöld is one of the top and most consistent bands performing French black metal of a Medieval/fantastical nature, and their sixth album Le fléau du rocher continues to elevate their presence with a flowing, slightly adventurous sense to the songwriting. That's not to imply that it's a major evolution beyond what they'd created for the last few, but I don't ever get the sense that they're repeating themselves; the basics are the same, but they're presenting new melodies and rhythmic structures and the result is the sort of escapism I think a lot of fans of fantasy based black metal might enjoy. They're not quite as seethingly historical as Aorlhac or bleedingly melodic as Vehemence, two of their most obvious parallels, but they occupy a balanced middle ground.

Lots of lush acoustics and synthesizers are implemented to complement the tremolo-picked charging of the guitars, while the drums are also a dominant force here with lots of intense fills and thundering, almost martial sounding patterns that boost the sense of anachronism and escapism. The riffing patterns are not always cold and bleak or dissonant, but rather glorious and warm as they highlight myths and battles and sorcery. Guitars don't always bore into your ears with the most memorable progressions, as you've heard a lot of them before, but I think they do a grand job at mixing together folk-like Medieval vibes with the darker Scandinavian black metal mysteries, and fine leads or melodies will break out gallivanting through tunes like "Le cortège royal" or the title track. They can pick up on the intensity a bit with "L'ascension du mage noir" or do something more mug-swilling in "Troubadour" which might have been the product of some more directly folk metal band, with the deep male chants.

Granted, the more in that direction the music ever aims with this album, it does feel slightly more generic, I actually prefer when they get darker or use the synths to create an almost dungeon synth/black metal hybrid, but all of it is handled in a balance so the record never grows dull. The vocals are a fairly standard rasp, but you do get some of those aforementioned choirs for some variation. Although this record is more musically developed than previous, I don't know that it stands out for me as much as a Castellum or their 2010 debut A Passage to the Towers..., but Darkenhöld has never released a dud, and if you've enjoyed their other records, or the aforementioned countrymen, or others like Griffin and Seth from that same scene, then you'll probably appreciate the effort these guys have been meting out for the last 15+ years.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://darkenhold.bandcamp.com/

Chapel of Disease - Echoes of Light (2024)

I'd hate to repeat a comparison I've already made over my last couple Chapel of Disease reviews, but Echoes of Light once again walks a parallel course to Swedes Tribulation in pursuing a more accessible, moody and atmospheric sound quite farm removed from their death metal roots, while retaining the harsh vocals for their contrast value against the more ear-pleasing riffs. They had already mastered this with the last time out, and this album doesn't show quite as much a transition as that between its two predecessors, so there is a little bit of a vibe that the band were really feeling out where to go here. It's a bit shorter, still at six songs, and seems to focus on fleshing out some of same ideas while giving them some more breathing room.

None of this is 'experimental', but the way the songs are composed aren't reduced to the most basic verse chorus structures, they will fuel any melodic inkling at any time and pursue that to a glorious end, and those are honestly the better parts of this record in tunes like the titular opener or "A Death Through No Loss". The album is heavily leaning on bluesy leads, hard rock or classic heavy metal riffing patterns as well as some soothing acoustic sequences, and through all of this, the bass guitar is able to stick out more than ever, with some simpler and steadier grooves than the last record, but they really anchor all the adventurous noodling. But if you heard those calmer sections of "A Death Through No Loss" and then went back to listen through 2012's Summoning Black Gods, you wouldn't recognize the Germans as the same band. Even further, they are starting to implement some clean singing here ("Shallow Nights", "Gold/Dust") to go along with some of the bluesy, emotional moments. They don't seem too confident in that respect, however, and they wind up a little bit shoegaze, but they're not bad.

The production is glinting and clear, a little more bold than ...and As We Have Seen the Storm... and there are still lots of great guitar licks throughout, while the holdover of the harsh vocals definitely continues to make this feel like Tribulation if they had gone for a more classic hard rock basis rather than the Gothic (although a few sections here also give off that impression). All told, this one doesn't feel like a step back in vision so much, but quality for sure. The cleaner vocals don't really sell me yet, the cover art choice seems a little dull after a similar, swirly look on the last record, and I don't know that I enjoy the continued progress into lighter rock fare, perhaps because it's just not always catchy enough to justify that. On the other hand, it still has plenty of wondrous moments through the riffing, good bass, and it's not at all a chore to listen through. Growing pains, maybe, but still enjoyable.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/ChapelOfDisease