Band:	Dawn Of Tears
Album:	Descent
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	2007

01. Blaspheme Natured Messiah
02. The Pit And The Pendulum
03. Lost Verses
04. Poisoned Minds, Shattered Hearts
05. Echoes Of Eternal Life
06. Invisible Worlds Of Madmen
07. Bleeding Away
08. Uncertain Life
09. Blood On Verona

Melodic Death Metal, and especially the Gothenburg variety, has been relentless since Dark Tranquillity and In Flames impressed younger musicians all around the world with their mid-90s masterworks. The sound apparently impressed a lot in Spain and that brings us to the debut album of a Madrid band called Dawn of Tears. Actually, allow me to elaborate a bit. For those of you old enough to remember Finland’s Eternal Tears of Sorrow [since reformed] groundbreaking approach to bringing keyboards in a forceful manner into the style, Dawn of Tears are also doing that with huge success. Their first album Descent is nothing short of one of the best releases of 2007.

First off, the band is unsigned, even though it is hard to fathom. I mean, come one! This album is a real killer and Nuclear Blast and Roadrunner should be all over Dawn of Tears. From the opening notes of ‘Blaspheme Natured Messiah’, it is clear that the guys know what they are doing. Great melodies, catchy tunes, smart song writing, guitar solos flying all over the place, attention-grabbing lyrics, it would be hard to pinpoint a flaw on Descent. Well, maybe the clean vocals a la Sentenced could use some fine tuning, but that might be just me since I never liked Sentenced vocals to begin with.

Every track kills while managing to be part of the harmonious ensemble. This is not a monochrome stream of Melodic Death due to the fact that the songs are all bringing something special into the mix. Slower pace breaks, vocal variations, virtuosity guitar work, groovy breaks, those musicians used all their tricks to impress, and it works.

Spain can be proud of Dawn of Tears, and I sincerely wish them the best and I hope to hear from them again very soon. Meanwhile, support those guys and do yourself a favour. Get this killer album.