Initially BEFORE THE DAWN came to life as a one man project by Tuomas Saukkonen. The 'band' released three albums and one DVD before going on the road with KATATONIA and MOONSPELL.
In 2007 BEFORE THE DAWN signed a new record deal with Stay Heavy Records revealing for the first time a solid lineup. With the momentum of the new contract BEFORE THE DAWN created their fifth album Soundscape Of Silence as the successor of the highly successful Deadlight from 2007.
Dying Sun enters with an up-tempo groove under a late AMORPHIS perspective. The down tuned guitars and the following growling vocals add some points towards heaviness leaving aside the initial almost Gothic Metal music elements. The band is from Finland and thus the SENTENCED influences come naturally with the clean vocals of Lars Eikind who does a very good job and fits the band's music style like a glove. The fact that the band chose the heavier side of this successful music genre really earned me since I am always getting bored by the SENTENCED and AMORPHIS wannabes and thankfully this was not the case. Although, the songs may not claim the crown of originality and some may find some of them predictable they have a strong feeling of freshness filled with energy that pretty much covers this flaw. Actually, the album comes with a solid sound and production proving that BEFORE THE DAWN have spent a lot of time in the studio rehearsing and eventually solidifying their music signature. Songs that made a step forward from the rest are Silence with the nicely put vocal duel, the heavy Saviour (there are some almost blast beats here) and the riff driven ”Cold” that makes a pass on the Gothenburg sound.
I am more than sure that this album will follow Deadlight road to success conquering once again the Finnish charts. The question that needs an answer from you is whether this album can boost the band's publicity in the rest of Europe. Personally, I believe it can; so it was your turn to decide...