Dawn Of Ashes – The Antinomian (Album – Artoffact Records)

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, EBM, industrial, metal.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Next year Dawn Of Ashes will celebrate their 20^th anniversary. They already can look back to an impressive discography featuring dark-electro albums during the early years and more industrial-metal productions later on. But the last year released album “The Crypt Injection II” was a kind of back to the roots, revealing a move to explicit electronic compositions. So I was wondering how this new opus would sound like, which also is their first album released on Artoffact.

Content: This American formation clearly hates repeating themselves. “Antinomian” sounds definitely electro-like and is carried by dark, impressive EBM bass lines. If you think that the last Pouppée Fabrikk album was your darkest experience in EBM, Dawn Of Ashes clearly will show you what real darkness is all about. But it’s not just EBM! The songs are a constant mix between different influences covering dark-electronics, industrial with a good-old metal flavor on top. This is a hard production, which also comes through in the vocal production.

+ + + : I thought to have already seen and heard all imaginable styles and formats when it concerns Dawn Of Ashes. But front man Kristof Bathory appears to be unpredictable and I like it. He now worked out a powerful and haunting sound hybrid reassembling solid EBM bass lines, doom-like atmospheres, aggressive guitar riffs and unpolished industrial sound arrangements. The songs have something menacing, like announcing a nearby apocalyptic vision. But more than this, Dawn Of Ashes deals with a very own sound DNA. I don’t want to compare this work with the newest Pouppée Fabrikk album, but both releases are extremely dark in their genre, but “Antinomian” clearly gets the award for most tormenting album.

– – – : There are a few rather short duration tracks featured and that’s maybe a pity… because the music is good so you never get enough of it!

Conclusion: Where too many bands are stagnating by repeating themselves, Dawn Of Ashes dares to walk on new paths. That’s what I call a creative formation and this album is a new masterpiece in its unique style of music!

Best songs: “Sleep Paralysis”, “Straight To The Core”, “Pawns Of The Wretched”, “Scum Of The Earth”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.dawnofashesband.com / www.facebook.com/Dawnofashes

Label: www.artoffact.com / www.facebook.com/artoffact

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