Band:	Dusk
Album:	Dusk
Style:	Death doom metal
Release date:	1994
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Envision The Terror
02. Element Of Symmetry
03. Begotten Interlude
04. Dreamscape
05. Consigned To Oblivion
06. Mourning Shadow

Dusk is one of those bands that reigned supreme in the first half of the 90s, leaving their everlasting mark in the world of doom/death metal. Yet, the "curse" of the great old ones that condemned bands like Thergothon, Winter, Disembowelment etc to disband after one-two releases was there for them as well since they disbanded after their second album, "?Majestic Thou In Ruin".

Well, it's 1994 and the omen of chaos and darkness is about to be fulfilled and so it happened. "Dusk", the debut mini-CD of Dusk, saw the light of day and from that moment and on the landscapes of the earth turned into what the cover artwork of this release reflects, a barren land filled with ruins and withered trees fading in agony under a darkening horizon. The misty cover is the most ideal one to represent the sounding document of raging pain and mourning that is about to begin with the first sounds of "Envision the Terror" when you start to realize what is about to begin, giving shapes to your greatest fears.

The sound of Dusk moves in primary doom/death metal soundscapes, which means that you will find many groovy death metal outbursts that make the overall atmosphere more intense, escalating the emotional charge of the songs. The guitar riffing is mourning and down-tuned, slow at times, whilst at others really dynamic and death metal oriented showing from where this brilliant scene, doom/death metal, came from. The rhythm section is bombastic, something that would have been more obvious if the production was better; nevertheless, the drumming and the bass lines achieve what they were meant to, create unreached walls of sound, whether they are raging or accompanying! The vocals are deep grunts filled with pain, hate and disgust, unleashing their dismal rawness in the grieving air, surrounding the listener like a plagued angel of doom.

Dusk's sound, though, is not just raw, they have more melancholic and romantic, if I may say, passages where some keyboard and piano pieces make their appearance and adorn the gloomy soundscape with the scent of a rose. Of course, there are times during the album that the keyboard melodies evoke a more distressful and nightmarish atmosphere. Either way, they make the overall aesthetic of "Dusk" more affected and expressive.

So as to conclude, in my humble opinion, every grieving adorer of the doom/death metal scene should own one of its pure masterpieces, "Dusk", consisting only of six compositions that will torment you in the most beautiful way for around 27 minutes!