MERIDIAN DAWN was founded in December of 2012, cover the musical grounds between Death and Melodic Metal. However, this is not a band that appeals to the typical "metal clichés" but, instead, encompass a sound and aesthetic that's all its own. Formed originally as a side project by vocalist Antony Hämäläinen and guitarist/bassist Nick Ziros, the band immediately began writing and recording their debut EP. "The Mixtape EP" was produced in Skövde, Sweden by Thomas "Plec" Johansson and released in 2014. It received positive reviews for its heaviness, clean production, and raw attitude, a full, frontal attack that was more than enough to prepare everyone for the beauty and savagery of the band's debut album, "The Fever Syndrome," which contains nine tracks.

"Iconic" opens the album. It opens with a furious sound...drums rattling and guitars heavy and aggressive. The vocals are half-harsh and half-shouted, and some guitar harmonies come into play as well. It's a quick three-and-a-half-minute burner. "Fever Syndrome" opens with thuddy guitar strikes and some dissonance. Guitar harmonies abound and you can clearly hear the bass guitar, which I always enjoy. The melodies are subtle but present, and the band does the "death" side just a bit better than the "melo" side of the genre.

"With a Heavy Burden" is another three-minute burner. The band is quick to present their music as straightforward as possible. The shouting vocal style doesn't really exist much in the genre, so this is something new. "God to All" opens with harmonic lead guitars, and this time, the melody shines a bit brighter. There is a heavy dissonance present on the album, which is something you don't often hear. "Involuntary Seclusion" is another three minutes of intense melo-death. The pace is slower here, really allowing the heavier elements to develop in favor of straight up melody.

"Luminescent" is a four-minute track. It opens slowly, and cautiously. Then, the thunderous kick drum creates a steady rhythm while the guitars shoot off some melody. This song is little closer to the boundaries of the genre. "It's All a Dream" opens with some charming melodies, and the steady strum of bass guitar. But the kick drum rolls in, and the guitars and obliterate any chance of the melody shining. "Thieves" comes from the deep end of the genre, with heavy guitars and bass and harsh vocals. The guitar harmonies are nice, but they are drowned out a bit by the aggressive sound.

"Dressed in Ice" closes the album. It's a solid closer, with a weighted mid-tempo sound, and sports some melody, with the clean guitar passage. I wish that there were more of this, as I really like it. Overall, this is fairly standard Melo-Death, but it doesn't do much to separate from the legions of other bands in the genre out there. The structures are there, and the talent, but they just need to find a way to really stand out from the pack. It's good, but could be better.