(Melodic Power Metal) [CD] Dawn of Silence - Wicked Saint Or Righteous Sinner (Japanese Edition IUCP-16081) - 2010, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

From a third party of friends to a full-scale melodic heavy metal group, that is the story of Dawn Of Silence from Sweden. After triggering their melodic metal nature (Iron Maiden) to their local scene with a string of demos, this band went forward and recorded their first album, Moment Of Weakness, landing a deal with Metal Heaven Records.

After not being able to spread their music due to some difficulties on tour schedules and other administrational items, Dawn Of Silence moved on and went on to record their second melodic endeavor, Wicked Saint Of Righteous Sinner. This new recording, released under their new label, GMR Music Group, is a new display of the band’s heavy metal/hard rock meld at high quality aspects of sound as material.

Dawn Of Silence draw the breath of Iron Maiden (and also some Edguy and Bruce Dickinson’s solo albums) from their lungs, and not just because they were once a Maiden cover group, it’s because just as Maiden played their amazing melodies, so did Dawn Of Silence on the majority of their riffs.

The riff passages tend to have similarities to the more modern Maiden melodies (from their last three albums) as the sound production here boosted up the music to new terms of heaviness that are foreign to the Maiden band. Well, you can say that most Maiden-influenced bands, especially the modern ones, charge up their sound with a bombastic production. In the case of Dawn Of Silence, as on others, it’s all about providing the sweet melodies followed by additional power from beneath them.

Besides being musically close to Maiden, Dawn Of Silence also found their Dickinson/Sammet in the image of one of their guitarists and founder, Patrik Johansson. Johansson is more of a mixture between Dickinson and Tobias Sammet of Edguy / Avantasia. He has the depthy pattern of Bruce yet has some liners and finishing outlines of Sammet. Sometimes, when displaying a recorded section of duel channels, it seems that Sammet and Dickinson sings together in a Metal Gods’ duet. Johansson is the main reason why the choruses on Dawn of Silence’s songs on the album sound so magical.

Theses sort of choruses, with the astounding melodic verses (both vocals and rhythms), are the winning chips of this album and the band’s straight metal approach. However, as a single limitation, there is the fact the songs are not so different from one another. Beyond their structures, which are rather basic (like verse, chorus, verse, solo, end), the choruses have that capability on being similarly composed (vocal wise mainly). Nevertheless, most of the listeners will live with those as they serve as important pillars of the band’s repertoire.

Wicked Saint Of Righteous Sinner consists of some winning “classics to be” as “In Quest For Life” (great dual channeled vocals), “Crucifire” (no mercy on the heaviness), “Haunted Dreams” and “Masquerade” (total amazement). Those tracks mark the band as a strong modern heavy metal team, yet they are also exemplifying them as an 80’s-oriented group with an aim to bring the rather catchy side of metal to the side of ample melodic personality. Behind those true hits, you may experience the other tunes that Dawn Of Silence had to give, the choice is in your hands to feel them.

Review written by Lior "Steinmetal" Stein

Links:
http://www.dawnofsilence.net/
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Dawn_of_Silence/9604