Dawn of Destiny - Begins 4/5
Reviewed: 10-12-07
Tracklist:
1. Waiting (The opening)
2. Healing touch
3. Condemnation
4. All those lies
5. Break the silence
6. Coldest night
7. Another fallen angel
8. Flying away
9. Torture room
10. Alone at night
11. D.O.D.
12. Place in heaven
|
Dawn of Destiny is a new band from Germany and their debut 'Begins' has been a tremendous surprise. The CD's base style is symphonic power metal and since it's female fronted and contains a lot of speed, Wildpath, Operatika and Nightwish have been the bands that have popped into my head the most. Dawn of Destiny has a slightly dark (gothic) side to them though, and because of this, I'm also reminded of Crimson Tears, who's debut 'The dark awakening' was the surprise earlier in the year (regarding this particular style).
Vocally, Tanja Maul is not of the operatic kind, but instead has a high and somewhat girly voice, sitting somewhere between Andrea Datwyler of Lunatica and Anette Blyckert of Nightwish. Anette might have a naturally better voice, but Tanja is more expressive and I actually prefer her over Anette (and probably Andrea as well). I must mention that there are also some male death ("beast") vocals, and this strengthens the dark/gothic side of the band, but there isn't a lot of the "beast" vocals and it shouldn't be a large factor in deciding whether or not the band is for you. Personally, I like the presence of the "beast" with this particular band.
As mentioned, the CD contains a lot of speed and right after the short/instrumental opener "Waiting", track 2 "Healing touch" strikes hard as a fast-paced song with powerful riffs. Track 3 "Condemnation" is also very fast, has an exceptional chorus, and is easily one of the catchiest songs on the CD. Track 4 "All those lies" mixes up the tempo a bit and this is where I begin to think of Crimson Tears, but know that Dawn of Destiny doesn't have the keyboards upfront in the mix near as much as Crimson Tears does. Track 5 "Break the silence", though solid, is one of my least favorite songs on the CD with its groovy rhythm (I simply prefer the faster songs). The slow track 6 "Coldest night", which is nicely done and contains a terrific guitar solo, then takes us to the middle of the CD.
The 2nd half of the CD begins with the excellent "Another fallen angel", a song with lots of speed, ultra-catchy riffs and a short keyboard solo. Simply awesome, and there's no drop in quality as the CD continues on with the pounding track 8 "Flying away" and crunchy track 9 "Torture room". If that's not enough, the spectacular track 10 "Alone at night" (which features Tanja at her best and most memorable) follows and takes us to the solid "D.O.D.". The CD then finishes with the absolutely magnificent "Place in heaven", a song with slower parts, faster parts and a very passionate ending.
So we have a CD that has surprised me in an extreme manner, especially considering it's only the band's debut. I will also say that the CD has gotten better and better with each listen and it's easily competitive with other 2007 releases of its kind, including the aforementioned 'The dark awakening' from Crimson Tears and even 'Dark passion play' from Nightwish. In fact, regarding 'Dark passion play', if you're looking for a CD that's faster, more aggressive, slightly darker or less polished and less symphonic, there's a good chance you'll belong in the group that likes 'Begins' more.
CLINT
MORE REVIEWS... FULL REVIEWS
MORE REVIEWS BY CLINT... CLINT
MAIN -
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
I -
J -
K -
L -
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z -
MISC
Email: metalcdratings@yahoo.com
