Band:	Garden Of Delight
Album:	Dawn
Style:	Gothic rock
Release date:	2001

01. High Empress (Liber 777)
02. Silent Moments (Dawn Part I)
03. Eternal Sleep
04. Exorial
05. Ceremony
06. Dawn (Part II: At The Gates Of Dawn, Part III: Gothic Prayer)
07. You Have Been Here Before

After 7 years of existence in the 90s, with 7 albums of 7 songs each one of them, Garden of Delight decided to disband. Years were passing and Garden of Delight's mastermind, Artaud Seth, decided to bring the band back to life, without Diary of Dreams' main figure, Adrian Hates, on the bass guitar this time due to arguments and deeper reasons. Their reunion album was "Radiant Sons", a remarkable new beginning, the opening of the new circle. 2001 arrived and the time for their 9th official full-length release, "Dawn", an album mystic and dark, yet so full of emotions, had come. Artaud and the Delightful ones know how to compose great songs and they prove it as they remain one of the greatest forces and most promising bands in the gothic rock scene. With this album Garden of Delight show a more sentimental side of themselves sounding more mature and full of inspiration being helped by the really good almost crystal-clear production. Follow the call of Inanna?

"Dawn" opens with "High Empress", a hymn to Aleister Crowley and of course one of the best Garden of Delight songs in their second era.; great gothic rock guitar riffing enchanting the listener, imposing bass lines and Artaud's deep wonderful voice interpreting in an ecstatic passionate way perform a great composition. "Silent Moments (Dawn Part I)" follows, a low-tempo composition based mainly on the bass guitar's pulses, Artaud's recites and some synth-born melodies creating an ethereal dark atmosphere leading to a romantic-sounding song, "Eternal Sleep", in which Artaud interprets in an emotional way whilst the guitars evoke the ideal atmosphere with soft guitar chords, the rhythm section lends groove to the song and some keyboard melodies add an ethereal feeling making "Eternal Sleep" a really wonderful composition. "Exorial" that follows is an up-tempo Garden of Delight song with gothic rock guitars, enchanting keyboard melodies and Artaud's ecstatic interpretation.

Ritual drumming and some guitar chords along with Artaud's dark whispers evoke a mystic atmosphere continuing the album with "Ceremony" letting "Dawn" flow with an opus, the title-track, "Dawn"; soft guitar chords open the song and so the first part of the song, "At the gates of Dawn", flows this way, with soft guitar chords and Artaud' s serene voice leading to the second part, "Gothic Prayer", that sounds even softer, with Artaud whispering, an ethereal female voice echoing and some keyboard melodies that evoke a really evil atmosphere. It starts to rain, "You have been here before", an elegiac sentimental composition begins. "And when the angel sings his saddest song, you have been here before" sings Artaud and enchants the listener while the echoing guitar chords accompany him. After the second refrain the song becomes more intense with the piano piece making the emotional charge greater and the heavier guitar riffing adding another melancholic sense to the song. A really beautiful-sounding lengthy guitar solo leads the song and the album to their end when it starts to rain again and a door closes loudly?

"Dawn" is a remarkable album with intense dark atmosphere and utterly inspired compositions; a must-have release, if I may say, for the gothic metal/rock audience. Proceed and you won't regret it!

"To Forgive is to Forget."