You can support Terra Relicta by donating! Please, do so, and thank you!
Band: Dawn Of Oblivion
Album title: Soulmate [EP]
Release date: 13 March 2017
Label: M&A MusicArt
Tracklist:
01. Soulmate
02. Acid Sea
03. Search For Equilibrium
In case that you wondered if true gothic metal is still alive and how it sounds today than you should listen to Dawn Of Oblivion. This legendary Swedish band which returned from a ten years long hiatus in 2015 by releasing their stunning fifth album Phoenix Rising, an album which marked almost complete departure from their early days of gothic rock orientation into much heavier and darker sounds. The recently released EP named Soulmate consists of three tracks with some of the heaviest material this band released so far and by bands words is just a teaser for upcoming album, but still, these 14 minutes of Nordic gothic metal that Dawn Of Oblivion offer on this release are absolutely worth checking out.
While it's obvious that the band delivers now kind of their own style of gothic metal, the influence of bands like Paradise Lost, Tiamat, Type O Negative, Therion, mid era Fields Of The Nephilim (Zoon) and later era The Sisters Of Mercy (Vision Thing) are more than evident. I can't go past but noticing that Dawn Of Oblivion have some typical old school Swedish death metal elements hidden in their compositions as well, that's perfectly heard in those crushing blasts in the amazing opener "Soulmate", a gothic metal track par excelence, but also in the rather strange "Acid Sea", with a certain Motörhead-ish vibe, which to be honest got on my nerves a bit with that repetitive refrain, not a bad one, but it has kind of groovy energetic punkish vibe that somehow doesn't fit in here. Still with its galloping rhythm I believe that when played live this one can cause proper chaos. The last track, "Search For Equilibrium", is an emotional semi ballad with great vocals and some really amazing guitar passages, plus a solo which could as well be taken from Therion's seminal album Theli.
All of the three tracks just show how much potential this band has. Soundwise this is a very strong album, with persuasive deep versatile and dark vocals of frontman Victor who certainly adds another dimension to this already dark sound. Atmospheric gloomy synths just perfectly deepen the whole thing, very strong and powerful drumming, devastating bass lines that many times reach the border of typical gothic metal and venturing into extreme waters, and of course driving heavy guitars that just perfectly add the necessary dose of heaviness. All of the three tracks are very dynamic, vibrant and with pretty addictive melodic segments. The whole ambiance is dark and very dense, of course all this things will bring joy to every fan of gothic metal. All in all, in my opinion, Dawn Of Oblivion, if I somehow exclude the track "Acid Sea", did a perfect job on this EP and I can't wait for their next album. This is a band which must be without any excuses discovered by every single fan of gothic metal!
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 7,5/10
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
