"Where the voice of an angel meets the music of the devil". That is how NRT's biography of DAWN OF ETERNITY begins, and while it may seem like overblown PR, it is an understandable and accurate description of the band's sound. Sara Seubert's vocals are the defining characteristic of the group, with her soaring melodies providing a dimension to the music that excludes it from most genres. The interaction between hers and Johannes Kittel's deep, guttural screams and growls is also a strong part of the band's sound, as neither drowns the other out and they take turns often enough so that neither becomes boring and each has their time to shine.

The German band opts to sing in English, and the shift in language makes the lyrics sound slightly odd sometimes. An example is in the opening track "Ego", where the chorus begins with "In the darkness, I hope your evil burns your soul". The fact that such a hateful and dark phrase is being sung by such a beautiful voice is quite powerful, but at the same time it just sounds slightly off, like it somehow doesn't work. There are one or two other cases of this, but since it's hard to put a finger on exactly what's wrong with it, we won't go into them.

One thing to note from the album is that you won't feel short-changed; at 16 tracks, and with each one being a good four or five minutes long, it goes on for a while. Whether you see this as a good thing or not, you can't say that there's not enough material here, even if a chunk of it is from their 2010 EP "Catastrome". It's varied as well; the frequent changes in vocal styles see to this, as well as the sheer number of good riffs on offer.

"Guilty" manages to use a very simply riff to great effect, "Oceans" has a fantastically heavy, powerful rhythm towards the end, "Sing for Me" is a hauntingly beautiful display of operatic singing over a fast, hammering riff, and "Fire" relies solely on an acoustic guitar as well as Seubert's vocals, resulting in one of the highlight songs of the record.

If you're a fan of mainstream female-fronted Metal bands, then you'll surely be interested in hearing this, especially if you appreciate more dirty growls and screams on the odd occasion. There's enough packed into this one release that you are unlikely to find it repetitive after less than a good few times, and the addition of their previous EP to this package is definitely a welcome one.<