By Andrew Bansal
In 2012, Chicago-based traditional metal band Dawnbringer released their fifth full-length studio album ‘Into The Lair Of The Sun God’, a set of tunes that largely occupied my playlist and headspace for a majority of that year and then some. Boasting of powerful guitar melodies and pristine vocals that captured one’s attention straightaway, it was undoubtedly one of the finest releases of 2012 and is still in heavy rotation, standing far and above most albums that have been released in the 30 months since then. Now, Dawnbringer is ready to unveil the next chapter in their musical journey as the sixth LP ‘Night Of The Hammer’ is set to hit stores everywhere.
The main reason I kept repeatedly listening to ‘Into The Lair Of The Sun God’ is the flow of uplifting emotions it carries through its music, possessing the power to brighten any given mood. On ‘Night Of The Hammer’, while the righteous vocal stylings and exemplary guitar tones are kept intact, Dawnbringer explore a variety of other expressions, some in complete stark contrast to those on its predecessor, showcasing the creative genius of mastermind composer Chris ‘Professor’ Black, who handles lead vocals, drums, bass, keyboards and the songwriting for Dawnbringer.
Night Of The Hammer has a decidedly darker aura to it in comparison to the previous effort. Songs like ‘Alien’, ‘Nobody There’ and ‘Damn You’ emanate a classic doom metal sound while deep into this 40-minute creation, ‘Not Your Night’ and ‘Funeral Child’ bring forth straight-up black metal elements. The remainder of the album delves into downtempo, folky, melody-driven soundscapes with tunes such as ‘Hands Of Death’ and ‘One-Eyed Sister’ standing out in these aspects, the latter in particular beautifully decorated with acoustic guitar parts.
Besides its musical mood swings, the quality of the vocal delivery and guitar work is further enhanced by the crafty drum fills, and the overall sonic richness, clarity and flawless nature of the music makes Dawnbringer second to none amongst bands of their generation. Altogether this is another undeniably excellent Dawnbringer record that looks poised for high rankings in best-of lists at the turn of the year and deserves to dominate the airwaves in heavy metal-inclined households, bars and car stereos all over the planet.
Rating: 9.5/10
Record Label: Profound Lore
Release Dates:
October 24th 2014 (Europe)
October 27th 2014 (UK)
October 28th 2014 (North America)
Track Listing:
01. Alien
02. The Burning Of Home
03. Nobody There
04. Xiphias
05. Hands Of Death
06. One-Eyed Sister
07. Damn You
08. Not Your Night
09. Funeral Child
10. Crawling Off To Die