DAWN OF WINTER is a doom metal band based out of Ludwigsburg/Remseck, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which was formed back in 1990 under the name CEMETERY. This is their third full-length record entitled "Pray for Doom", to be released on December 7^th 2018 on the I Hate record label. The opener "A Dream Within a Dream" feels like a time-warp into the early 1990's when a band named MY DYING BRIDE ruled with their gritty, dirty and powerful riffing of the pure death/doom genre. However, one thing that distinguishes these guys from the latter is the vocals, definitely not as melancholic and more along the lines of traditional doom. The best comparison I could make would be to that of SORCERER. This is a very strong beginning to the album that made me very nostalgic of one of the greatest eras of music in my opinion.

"The Thirteenth of November" follows the same pattern but seems pound a little more than the latter, probably because the drums are at the forefront here, as much the snare, as the cymbals. This is one of those highly enjoyable slow head bangers that I am sure would have made the almighty DIO smile from above. It has that CANDLEMASS epic tone to it from the first notes all the way to its ending crescendo. "Woodstock Child" is an ode to a long-gone moment that changed the world of music and it has a very powerful groove to it, and the tone is so gritty, that this kind of riffing would have fit perfectly in a 90's death metal project. Again, I do not want to sound like a broken record but the vocals are strongly reminiscent of MESSIAH MARCOLIN, and there are no complaints from me on that end.

"The Sweet Taste of Ruin" has a bit more of what we have been used to since the very first few seconds of the album, spine-tingling distortion in the guitars, with the prophetic narrative of Gerrit P. Mutz. One aspect that shines through on every track is that there is a hypnotic effect to the music and its structure, it sucks you in and never lets you go. Lastly, one other very strong song on the album is "Father Winter (Sacrifice Pt. 3)" which happens to be the album closer but also the longest track on the album, clocking in at over 10 minutes. It is a haunting piece that sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a movie recalling the end of the world, and puts the emphasis on the absence of fear for what is to come.

Overall, there is not one flaw on this album, every song is a great listen and really feeds on the past success of doom metal, yet fits amazingly well in an era where slow and grinding music has become extremely popular. If you have never heard of this band before, which was the case for me, I strongly recommend this album as a starting point.