Dark at Dawn - Of decay and desire 4/5
Reviewed: 4-29-05
Tracklist:
1. The sleepwalker
2. End of ice - Warrior queen
3. Luna
4. Maid of stone
5. Forever
6. The 5th horseman
7. ...And the sea wept
8. Soulitude
9. Fair well
10. Weltenbrand
11. One-night fall
12. The rose of tears
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Dark at Dawn are a very underappreciated band from Germany. They play melodic and catchy power metal that really stands apart due to the outstanding vocals. Thorsten Kohlrausch sings in a very rough and gruff, yet very melodic and passionate style. It really lends the band a uniqueness and fits the somewhat gothic atmosphere of the music. If you need your vocals to be completely clean, then you may want to check out another band, but you'll be missing out.
'Of decay and desire' is the band's 4th CD, and it may be their finest. "The sleepwalker" opens things up in stellar fashion with a melodic and memorable riff with Maidenesque guitar harmonies playing over the top of it. The song is in the midtempo and is particularly infectious during the choruses. "End of ice – warrior queen" is a speedier affair, and here the incredible passion of Kohlrausch's vocals shine through. He's really an incredbile vocalist. "Luna" is much slower, with a very gothic and doomy feel to it, with some backing female vocals. It's a good song, but I prefer the peppier stuff! Fortunately, next we have "Maid of stone" which has a burst of speed. Some great harmony guitars accentuate the lines of the chorus, and it works fantastically. Another highlight is "The 5th horseman" which has a blisteringly catchy main riff and (yet more) teriffic harmony guitars during its bridges. "Soultitude" has some riffs that just cry out in anguish to the listener. This is seriously powerful stuff. Despite the predominantly peppy tempos, there is an underlying sombre tone permeating the CD (and their other CDs). "The rose of tears" closes the CD with this sombre tone ringing clearly.
With the glut of power metal out there, a lot of bands just tend to run into each other with their similar sound and style. Dark at Dawn doesn't reinvent the wheel musically, but has a darker tone not overly prevalent in the genre. Add the incredbily powerful and original vocals, and you have a band that really stands apart from the crowd and deserves a bigger audience. The 3 men making up this band are truly talented.
JOHN
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