Before The Dawn - Deathstar Rising review
| Band: | Before The Dawn |
| Album: | Deathstar Rising |
| Style: | Melodic death metal, Gothic metal |
| Release date: | February 23, 2011 |
| A review by: | Troy Killjoy |
01. The First Snow
02. Winter Within
03. Deathstar
04. Remembrance
05. Unbroken
06. Judgement
07. The Wake
08. Sanctuary
09. Butterfly Effect
10. Wraith
11. Infinity [European bonus]
12. My Room [acoustic version] [European bonus]
13. Unbreakable [live] [European bonus]
14. The Black [live] [European bonus]
Before The Dawn have been around for over a decade, establishing themselves as one of Finland's most prominent metal acts. Their gothic-tinged melodic death metal has captured audiences worldwide, while the brains behind the music - musical puppet master Tuomas Saukkonen - has all but kept the core sound intact throughout the years.
Saukkonen's ultimate goal is to essentially shed the band of its gothic metal skin, exemplified by Deathstar Rising and its predecessor's more forward approach in terms of aggression. This album isn't completely different from the typical formula, but the usual bite carried with the music is more apparent, while the atmosphere takes a bit of a step back. This is a big no-no for a band like Before The Dawn, a band that relies primarily on their uniquely crafted atmosphere to separate themselves from the rest of the melodic death metal pack.
Speaking of atmosphere, the crisp production on this album actually works against it - hindering it - its crisp vibe stripping the guitars and keyboards of their desired effect. Or at least their formerly desired effect. Only the handful of men in the recording studio know exactly what they wanted this album to sound like, but in most cases fans are expecting more of the same from established acts like Before The Dawn. ("The same" being a melancholic melodic form of metal with a balanced mix of growls and clean vocals, and a heavy focus on daunting keyboard passages and catchy riffs not uncommonly structured so as to maintain a sense of simple attraction.)
Fans seeking new material similar to 4:17 AM or My Darkness won't exactly find their thirst quenched by this release, although they won't find it hard to swallow before moving on to something else. The music will be seen in a different light and judged accordingly, which will then result in comparisons being drawn to just about every other melodic death metal band under the sun by fans and non-fans alike. And that doesn't bode well for Before The Dawn. Trying to overthrow the likes of Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum is no simple task, and if their releases continue to lack in the atmosphere department as a result of leaving behind all gothic influence, they'll realize their goal is inescapably difficult and will - in all likelihood - fail.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 5 |
 | Written on 07.11.2011 by I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. |
Comments
Comments: 26
Visited by: 251 users
| muska Posts: 53 |
I am really sad to admit, that I found this latest effort lacking in atmosphere just as the reviewer stated 
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| Ag Fox Angel No More Elite Posts: 4774  |
It's because Troy likes his previous work, that's why he could be bothered to move his arse and write a few paragraphs about the music, perhaps hoping Tuomas would listen
---- loves 小巫
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| silenius Posts: 531  |
Gife moar 4:17 am! found this album to be kinda meh, due to the lack of atmosphere^^ spot on review mate.
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by [user id=109246] on 07.11.2011 at 13:47 Not really, considering he's the mastermind behind the music and main composer...  As for liking Black Sabbath (not sure where you were going with that argument), ya I like them, but I'm not going to review an album from 1970 that everyone already knows about.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by [user id=109246] on 07.11.2011 at 20:42 I'm criticizing his two releases from this year. But if I were going to review his previous material, I'd have a lot more positive things to say. As for him not "deserving it"... That just sounds fanboyish, sorry. I'll be reviewing Amoral's latest next, so the Saukkonen "bashing" has met its end.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| bluegreengod Account deleted |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by [user id=35037] on 08.11.2011 at 06:04 I'd say it's their best stuff yet if you're into plastic melo-death. But even then this doesn't surpass SoS.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702  |
Bands who keep producing the same old tripe (see Insomnium) are chastised, band who try and change are chastised... make your mind up! 
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 08.11.2011 at 17:55 What's the old saying... Something like "you can never please everyone, but you can always upset everyone".
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 08.11.2011 at 19:46 More than upsetting, I find it irritating... so, what's your stance on this, generally? Should bands progress (in a good or bad way) or just keep repeating the same old cack? I have the feeling that you will say "it depends on the band..."
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Merchant of Doom on 09.11.2011 at 10:50 Correction: bands that try something new and sound shit are chastised. On the whole people don't mock and negatively review bands that sound good that are also creatively new or interesting. It's a pretty easy concept to grasp.
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 09.11.2011 at 12:52 I have seen reviews on this site by people complaining that an album was shit just because the band kept repeating the same formula, despite being a brilliant album (like the new Insomnium one)... Bands that sound good and repeat themselves are definitely "mocked"...
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
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| Merchant of Doom Posts: 702 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 09.11.2011 at 13:53 You win...
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| D.a.n Posts: 42 |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Merchant of Doom on 09.11.2011 at 10:50 Your feeling is very accurate, although JOOE does bring up a good point about bands changing their sound for the worse and being reprimanded for it. I didn't hate this album, I thought it was better than average in fact (not way above average, but decent). The problem is they changed their formula to compete with the likes of other established acts and it's obvious they aren't known for that. Mind you, it's really the first album where they tried for a straightforward approach like this so maybe they'll get closer to the top in the future. Judging the first album to mark a change is always the most difficult because you never know where album #2 will go.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by D.a.n on 09.11.2011 at 17:49 Thanks! And this name will stick for a while now, maybe until April Fool's. I agree with the new Draconian too. It's another one of those above par releases but not really a birdie either. I guess below par is better in golf than above par. Golf is stupid.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Lord Pisi Pisi Posts: 8  |
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603  |
I listened to it a couple more times and gave it an eight... like I said before, not my type of melodeath, but I adore Lars' vocals THAT MUCH. So awful he's gone.
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Milena on 07.12.2011 at 10:19 And not only that, but apparently the goal is now to try their hand at "pure" melodic death metal. Scrapping the gothic vibe altogether will be the end of these guys. Most likely anyway - although chances are the MDM masses will eat up the new sound if they can muster up anything like the latest Omnium Gatherum (which is incredibly overrated).
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| beyondtehdarksun Posts: 186  |
Yep, it's a shame (though I didn't like his voice that much when the original clean singer left, but it fits perfect on this one). If everything start sounding like Omnium Gatherum, I'll probably lose my interest in melodeath
---- "We are blind to the world within us, waiting to be born"
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 07.12.2011 at 10:23 I don't think they'll be able to do that. Sure, MDM has become quite the mainstream genre, but there's quite enough bands that put out solid releases, and if this dude keeps on releasing a couple of albums a year, he'll lose the gas needed to reach that solid status. I'm one of the people in the vast mass that very much enjoyed Omnium Gatherum, but this other type of melodeath is a bit too plastic for me to enjoy without some spice. The voice of Lars is such a spice. OG was overrated, as you say, (although I think they're a nice band, with a good soul and that they've earned this success) because a mass of people has finally moved on from "CHILDREN OF BODOM IS GENIUS, MAN!!!!" to a bit more serious stuff, but with the same awe. I don't find either OG or Bodom's "golden" period genius, but I've probably enjoyed NWS more than a classic CoB release...
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Milena on 07.12.2011 at 10:38 Agreed (with this and the CoB fans gone serious). It wouldn't surprise me if BtD became the Sonic Syndicate of melodic death metal.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603 |
Now that I've thought about it: maybe he simply wants to separate the sounds of his projects, so he chooses to strip BtD of the gothic influences as the easiest way to make a difference?
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Milena on 26.12.2011 at 02:31 It's quite possible. It's no secret that his many projects don't really stand out from each other, much like Älvestam's multitude of bands.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Milena gloom cookie Staff Posts: 4603 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 26.12.2011 at 05:05 Well dammit Tuomas, it would have been better if you had shut down some I'm not interested in instead of doing this.
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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