Before the Dawn - Deathstar Rising (2011
©Nuclear Blast Records
Finland
Tracklist:
- The First Snow
- Winter Within
- Deathstar
- Remembrance
- Unbroken
- Judgment
- The Wake
- Sanctuary
- Butterfly Effect
- Wreith
Tuomas Saukkonen is a very busy man. It seems as though he always has a project he's working on. Whether it be Before the Dawn, Black Sun Aeon or Dawn of Solace; he never seems to get much vacation. I admire this in a musician. I really do... Until it gets to the point where the band would benefit from actually taking a break.
It feels like Before the Dawn have come to this with Deathstar Rising. It's not a bad album by any means. Though, it is a tad stale and repetitive. The problem with Before the Dawn is that almost all of their material sounds concurrently the same. Deathstar Rising is definitely the fastest and most bombastic BTD album ever recorded and it does add a nice element of energy to the album's 10 tracks. Though besides the added speed, the melodies, harmonies, and overall feel of each track are all too familiar.
While listening to the album, I felt as though I had walked down this road a few too many times and the lasting impression was less than memorable. Some riffs and leads sound repeated from previous albums and the vocals follow the standard format of growled verses followed by a clean, melodic chorus. Regardless of my complaints; I still enjoyed Deathstar Rising more than I'm making it sound. There's definitely worse metal out there that I could be wasting my time on (Burzum... don't provoke me)... And the groups performance though stale, is still impressively tight.
In short, if you loved Deadlight and Soundscapes of Silence; then you'd probably like Deathstar Rising just as much because it's essentially the same material Before the Dawn have been playing since they refined their sound in 2007. Just don't expect much else. It's not a bad album, it's just a little bit uninspired. I recommend the latest Black Sun Aeon album instead of this one. And I still love Thomas Saukkonnen.
-Jeremy
It feels like Before the Dawn have come to this with Deathstar Rising. It's not a bad album by any means. Though, it is a tad stale and repetitive. The problem with Before the Dawn is that almost all of their material sounds concurrently the same. Deathstar Rising is definitely the fastest and most bombastic BTD album ever recorded and it does add a nice element of energy to the album's 10 tracks. Though besides the added speed, the melodies, harmonies, and overall feel of each track are all too familiar.
While listening to the album, I felt as though I had walked down this road a few too many times and the lasting impression was less than memorable. Some riffs and leads sound repeated from previous albums and the vocals follow the standard format of growled verses followed by a clean, melodic chorus. Regardless of my complaints; I still enjoyed Deathstar Rising more than I'm making it sound. There's definitely worse metal out there that I could be wasting my time on (Burzum... don't provoke me)... And the groups performance though stale, is still impressively tight.
In short, if you loved Deadlight and Soundscapes of Silence; then you'd probably like Deathstar Rising just as much because it's essentially the same material Before the Dawn have been playing since they refined their sound in 2007. Just don't expect much else. It's not a bad album, it's just a little bit uninspired. I recommend the latest Black Sun Aeon album instead of this one. And I still love Thomas Saukkonnen.
-Jeremy
