Before the Dawn - Deathstar Rising [2011]

Before the Dawn has been pumping out releases consistently for a few years now, but from what I can tell, very little changes between them. Their style isn't exactly a distinct one; it's derivitive of what Amorphis has been doing for years now. If you particularly love their material, I'd encourage you to stop reading and pick this up, because I can almost guarantee that you'll favor this. I'm on the fence about it, personally, but I can see the attraction of this type of music. Mixing some middling death growls and smooth clean vocals over a brown toned musical din is a combination that rarely goes sour. The main issue is that it slowly degrades into a predictable, repetitive set of fixed ideas.

Just about every song proceeds in the same way: a droning melodic death riff plays, a verse of death metal vocals is laid on top of it, and it all leads to a commercially capable chorus of mid-range clean vocals. One more verse, two more choruses, plus three more minutes and you've got your typical Before the Dawn song. Of course, they throw in a couple tracks that break the mold (like "Judgement") to throw you off the scent, but the changes are never major enough to matter. As a result, I'm always feeling Deathstar Rising for the first half but quickly grow bored before it even ends. What makes that particularly sad is the fact that it isn't very long in the first place. I know these musicians could make a more compelling album if they'd put more effort into it. Great songs like "Deathstar," "Remembrance," and "Sanctuary" are evidence of that.

Deathstar Rising certainly isn't a bad album, but it's all too apparent that Before the Dawn could have added some variety to enhance the overall package. There isn't a pathetic song here, just a few pointless and mediocre ones (like closer "Wreith" for example). The production is beyond clear, but that's no shocker for modern melodeth. At least it isn't a poppy, keyboard-laden mess like a lot of bands are reverting to these days. To conclude, this is a band with some potential, but the word poential is double edge sword; its use means that the subject isn't living up to what it could be.

   Overall: 6.75/10 (Fair)