Dawnbringer - Snake (2020)

Snake is another unusual highway stop in the Dawnbringer trajectory, an album that very heavily leans of heavy metal traditions but also tries to mix a few of them together into a novel outcome. Gone (but not entirely gone) are the melancholic strains of Night of the Hammer, and in its place we've got what feels like a modern tribute to London's grimiest sons Motörhead. There are riffs here or there which feel exactly like them, as in the uncomfortably "Iron Fist" intro to "Out of Mind", or the bridge of "Paradise Lust", or "Killed by Death", etc being contained as a medley in "Inferno" (also, coincidentally an album title). Others seem more to capture that punk/metal/speed in spirit, like the opener "Return to the Shrine" which doesn't quite clone Lemmy and the boys, but plays around in the same sort of sandbox. And I think that was the better way to approach this. Then you have a few of the band's further embellishments, a melodic sensibility which is more reminiscent of other NWOBHM bands or maybe some Thin Lizzy, or Chris Black's other band Superchrist which is a little more rock & roll to begin with.

It's an odd choice as a follow-up to their style from a few years before, but as more of a tribute to Lemmy who had ben gone a half-decade by this time, it at least delivers on the studio mix and energy. While I wish they hadn't included a few of those too-close, albeit brief mirror riffs, there are also some tunes which feel rather unique in that bass-driven speed/heavy sound, like "The Idea of Progress" with its great glaze of melodies and guitar effects, or "Twisting the Nest" with the great bass lines and snaky grooves, or "Loyal to Death" which puts an almost atmospheric, poppy polished spin on this sort of rock & roll. The bass tone is awesome throughout, as is the guitar tone, everything, with Chris continuing some of his more refined vocals. The best produced Dawnbringer record? Quite possibly, but only in service to a hybrid of styles that don't feel much like their own. Granted, there has always been a Motörhead influence in the vocals of this band, and some of the riffs, sure, but I feel like a project as this one could have been more effective if they changed the name, excluded any direct covering of riffs or tracks and just gone with something in that style, all dressed up with their own penchant for melodies and other influences.

I do realize this was allegedly written long ago, finished around the time of Lemmy's passing and was never meant to be a proper release. There's nothing malign about it, it's an independent release and by no means some sort of cheap commercial cash-in on a tragic loss. However, once you smack it down into the Dawnbringer lineage it kind of sticks there, and thus feels like another weird anomaly in a steady progression of them. Plenty of style here, also some substance, Chris Black clearly groks his inspiration and even expands upon it; he's a talented chap, but the presence of the direct referential licks/covers kind of betrays what could be an amazing peripheral tribute to one of the greatest musical institutions our ball of mud has spewed forth. It's also just not that memorable other than the strange story of its very existence. It's fine, but I'm never choosing it over the original article, nor am I choosing it over records like Unbleed, Nucleus, Sun God or Night of the Hammer. It remains as just a curiosity and hopefully a speed (metal) bump on the road to their next original work.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

Dawnbringer - XX EP (2016)

Kind of how Into the Lair of the Sun God mirrored Nucleus,  XX is a stylistic sibling to its predecessor Night of the Hammer, which you probably could tell from the very glum nature of the cover art. There are a few differences, the production here really kicks ass, it's every bit as accessible as that last album but it's got more depth and power to it, and that has a transformative effect on some of the saddening heavy metal anthems here, giving them a brighter edge of hope. Chris has developed his vocals even further, and these might honestly be some of the best he's done throughout his career. It's a little hard to pinpoint, they've got a lot of NWOBHM influence to them, but I find it hard to think of the exact bands; essentially he's punching way beyond his range until he actually MAKES that his range, and that creates an immediate uphill, emotional battle which drives the music below. At least once or twice here he even reminds me of Jonas from Katatonia, just that sad, spoken harmonic style. Overall, the highlight of this EP.

The music is glorious too, though. Tunes like "Into the Maze" and "North by North" are similar in scope, with these bright, airy guitars, slow to mid paced rhythms, the latter having some great backup chants in the verses, maybe even a tiny ounce of later epic Bathory poking through. Leads are resplendent and bluesy and 'felt', rather than the more technical flights they provided on the past few records. Having said that, the riffs are themselves nothing too special, they all move along in a predictable fashion, it's just that they sound so well produced and supportive of the vocals that they succeed anyways. The opening tune "Why Would You Leave Me" is a little too short to leave any impact, that probably should have been extended or just left off to allow the better tracks to do their business. Also, I feel like it can get a little too emotionally 'one-note'. Basically, the three best songs here ("Into the Maze", "North by North", "Earth") would have been better utilized as parts of a more diverse full-length where they could be countered off with some faster tunes, busier licks, just something to give them more poignancy than running straight into one another. But I do dig much of this, especially the singing.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

Dawnbringer - Night of the Hammer (2014)

Night of the Hammer is not a complete mellowing out of the style that Dawnbringer had explored with the two albums before it, but it's for sure a more comfortable and subdued slab of melodic heavy metal. The thing is, Chris and Scott brought the RIFFs with them, and this has a plethora of meaty, laid back chord and tasteful melodies that help to complement some of the best vocal structures and chorus lines they've had. The cover art here is quite different, just a photo of a guy staring out across some farmland or plain, with a silo or something off in the distance? With a hammer, of course. I often wondered if this is supposed to be the same figure from In Sickness and in Dreams, just captured from a different angle, with a weapon this time...perhaps a little bit of conceptual connection there.

In fact, this album has a heavy air of melancholy to it, which also begs that comparison, even though the style here is FAR removed from the surging melo-black/death of their formative years. Whereas the last two discs before this one were defined by ambition and redemption, Night of the Hammer is sad and self-reflective, with lyrics to match. It's got tasty, mid-paced rockers like "Alien", but also a lot of slower, sad heavy metal tunes like "Nobody There", "Hands of Death" and "Damn You", some of which, like the last, are definitely flirting more with a pure doom metal aesthetic, albeit unique with the little atmospheric guitars and Chris's vocal style. Speaking of which, he's dropped some of that gruffer edge for something more piercing and melodic, and it's pretty awesome since he's clearly becoming a more confident and effective singer (in this and other bands). The guitars sound smooth, some of the cleanest tone of the band's career, and most accessible; the drums as well. The songwriting in general is just as refined as Nucleus or Into the Lair of the Sun God, but the focus is much more grounded and personal...

That is, until the final three tracks of the album, which heard the band starting to 'fuck around' with a number of different style. These aren't deal breakers, but they definitely leech the record of some of its emotional weight. "Not Your Night" is a throwback to their more extreme metal days, with a blast beat and breathy, harsher vocals recalling In Sickness and in Dreams. "Funeral Child" is a Mercyful Fate and King Diamond tribute, and a pretty good one, but it's just something you don't expect at all in context with the rest of the new material here. The falsetto had me laughing, but I guess they had done the one song in the past that sounded like 80s/Painkiller Judas Priest, so I guess I can't be too shocked they could pull it off...and weirdly, the end of the tune goes right back into the style present on the rest of the record, which makes it even stranger. The finale, "Crawling Off to Die" does fit the record the most of these three but it's definitely got a feel of electrified folk balladry to it, and vocals that are more like a Pink Floyd vibe. None of these tunes are bad at all, in fact they're all catchy, but I just don't think they serve Night of the Hammer as a whole, and I always found them distracting. Otherwise, this is another compelling milestone on the band's journey, a shade of melancholy to disperse some of the Sun God's gleaming.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

Dawnbringer - Into the Lair of the Sun God (2012)

Into the Lair of the Sun God is a continuation of the sound Chris and Scott had found with Nucleus, only it sounds more refined and 'mature', as if the duo had really settled into this like some band having played around in it for decades. It's got another classy Christina Casperson cover like its predecessor, and I think both are the best in the whole Dawnbringer catalog at reeling a prospective listener into the journey that awaits them on the actual album, without giving away the content. Normally I'd look at these and think I might be bound for some dungeon synth or obscure black metal (which I'd be okay with in either case), but it's such a great pairing with this epic USPM sound. There should also be some kudos that Chris manages to explore this style without stepping on the toes of any of his other heavy metal projects, numerous of which were well active by this time, like High Spirits, Superchrist and the brilliant Pharaoh.

Sure, there are a few points of crossover, especially with Pharaoh (Matt Johnsen even pops in for some lead guitars here). A few vocals, a few of the busier guitar lines, but this is it's own thing, a classy and atmospheric conceptual heavy metal record eschewing song titles for Roman numerals. Pretty atypical for metal of this style, but it does actually help the listener roadmap the album as something to experience fully without worry about the 'hits', and that's a good thing, because Into the Lair of the Sun God is an extremely consistent 44 minutes of steady or galloping rhythms, well-layered leads, balanced tempos that shift between momentum and atmospheric reflection ("III" is a good example). The drums feel the best in the band's entire career, the bass lines thrive where in the past they were somewhat suppressed against the other instruments. The guitars are as bright as the title demands, which create a good contrast against Black's middle-ranged, hazier vocals which still remind me a bit of Lemmy, if the legend had been fronting something less lewd and rock & roll. There is a fair amount of complexity to some of the riffing, not so far as Helstar or Pharaoh maybe, but certainly in that region (as with "IV"). On the other hand, there are also a few pieces like "V" which is basically a straight up radio rock anthem, or the plodding and potent "VI".

I have to reiterate how well composed this music is...this might be the best 'songwriting' they have ever done, even if I'm nostalgically connected to Unbleed, which was quite different in style, that record does seem like chicken scratch compared to Sun God's calligraphy. This is not a record without precedent, there are many points here where you'll find parallels to Omen, Riot, Manilla Road or most of the other bands I mentioned before, but the way it's imbued with theme and pacing and consistency and the vocals make it all quite unique regardless. A pretty strong showing for a band that doesn't seem to spend too much time re-treading the same terrain, they hit little peaks and plateaus. Into the Lair of the Sun God shares this particular plateau with Nemesis, but it's further developed, catchier, with little moments of grace and power in each of its rhythmic arcs that better reward the listener. I think it's the pinnacle of this entire later phase of the band's career, a record I put up alongside the works of a Slough Feg or Hammers of Misfortune, two of my favorite peers when it comes to modern/throwback US heavy metal.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

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]