EVERDAWN hailing from New Jersey were formed in 2019. They are a progressive symphonic Metal band and released one full-length album so far. Their sophomore album “Venera” was mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen (HELLOWEEN; PRETTY MAIDS). It has a length of more than 62 minutes, and it was released via Italian Heavy, Power, and progressive Metal specialists Frontiers Music. The album starts strongly with the powerful “Cassiopeia”. After an epic introduction to the track, heavy guitar riffing takes over at a measured tempo. The vocals are clean and cover the medium to higher end of the vocal range. They are Rock oriented with the higher pitched notes being the exception. The track contains a few electronic samples, which do not really contribute a lot, however, the lead guitar solo is on the other hand very contributing and gives the song an extra dimension.

“Century Black” is a catchy track and varies between measured tempo and mid-tempo. The melodies and  the riffing remind me on a mixture of other melodic Metal tracks, but most prominent are the HELLOWEEN vibes in the main riff. The chorus melodies are catchy, and the chorus lines are anthemic. It is no surprise that “Century Black” has been released as video and the YouTube link is provided below. “Silver Lining” comes with a change in sound. It is a Power Metal track with many double-bass driven fast parts, while the chorus parts are mid-tempo with more epic melodies. Characteristic is the extended lead guitar solo at frantic pace. The vocals contain mostly deeper notes. “Karmic Partner” is a mixture of measured tempo, mid-tempo, and fast tempo. While the verse parts and the break are epic, the chorus parts are mid-tempo, and the lead guitar solo is again played at high pace. The keyboard elements are very prominent throughout the track. The vocal contribution is outstanding as Alina Gavrilenko shows her full vocal skillset and her enormous vocal range including a few operatic features.

“Northern Star” goes into the classical melodic Metal mode. It is a mid-tempo track with catchy melodies and easy to listen to. Highlight is again the vocal contribution with all its versatility leading through the track. “Justify The Means” is a powerful and dark track with thunderous riffing at mid-tempo. The vocals are running the show once again, while the guitars are almost equal to it. The downside of the track is the over-emphasis of the keyboards at times, which seemed to me unnecessary. Overall, an excellent track and one of my favorites. “The Promise” is a mid-tempo track with the tight guitar riffing is the focal point. It is one of the heavier album songs and very much guitar driven including an excellent extended lead guitar solo. As a criticism, I think the keyboards do not offer anything again and could have been easily skipped. “Crimson Dusk And Silver Dawn” is an instrumental driven by the guitars and it includes many different vibes ranging from neo-classical melodies to Latin inspired guitar parts.

For the title song, vocalist Alina Gavrilenko returns, and she immediately shows what was missing in the preceding song. “Venera” is a multifaceted song with many changes in tempo in rhythm, and the vocals adapt perfectly depending on the need: from deeper lying Rock vocals to higher pitched vocals during the epic chorus parts. “Venera” is perhaps the song that is most representative for the album sound. “Orion’s Belt” is a dynamic mid-tempo track with heavy and tight riffing and prominent keyboard parts. The vocals are predominantly Rock oriented with exception of the operatic highly pitched notes during the bridge. Highlight of the track is the break, where the keyboards and the lead guitars nicely align for a contributing solo. “Images Everlasting” starts with an extended instrumental part with crunching basslines, leading into the verse part at a measured tempo. The melodies are catchy and most of the track is a head-banger. Once again, it comes with an excellent lead guitar solo, combined with the keyboards where I thought, the latter one could be skipped. The chorus parts are mid-tempo where the higher pitched vocals are the prominent part.

“Samsara” is a symphonic Metal track at mid-tempo with powerful guitar riffing, a lot of double-bass drumming, higher pitched vocals, and orchestral arrangements most often in the background. During the extended break, the arrangements are more prominent and equal to the lead guitars. “Samara” is another album highlight and one of my favorite tracks. “Truer Words Ever Spoken” start with a ballad-esque lead guitar intro, transitioning into short mid-tempo guitar driven part, and eventually into the verse part at a measured tempo, while the chorus parts are at mid-tempo. The vocals during the verse parts are deeper lying, and the choruses are a mixture of medium to higher pitched notes. “Truer Words Ever Spoken” is a very diverse and complex song with many tempo changes during multiple breaks with Folk elements, jazzy vibes, as well as orientally driven melodies. It is by far the longest album song with almost 13 minutes playing time. I am not sure whether it was necessary to compose such a long track, I leave it up to the listener, however, I got lost several times during the track. Given the epic length, it could have been a great final track. Instead, “Beneath The Well” is the album closer and this is a good one. It is one of the slower tracks at a measured tempo with thunderous riffing and Alina Gavrilenko has a last opportunity to shine. She leads the track excellently through the end, although, somehow surprisingly, the lead guitars have the final word.

EVERDAWN release a good symphonic/melodic Metal album. The 14 songs of “Venera” are very diverse and a mixture of different styles, predominantly symphonic and melodic Metal with a progressive twist at times. With “Venera”, EVERDAWN create their very own characteristic Metal sound and at the heart of this is vocalist Alina Gavrilenko, who does an outstanding job with her huge vocal range, style, and versatility. Other highlights are the guitars, with many excellent lead guitar solos throughout the album. The album is well produced. The second album of EVERDAWN establishes the band further within a crowded symphonic and melodic Metal market and fans of those genres will surely love “Venera”.