Dawnbringer - In Sickness and In Dreams

Dawnbringer, to those who are familiar with it, is a labor of love from the mind of Chris Black, a Chicago-based musician and writer who has lent his bass, drum and vocal skills to a diverse selection of metal projects such as Pharaoh, Nachmystium and Superchrist. With the release of In Sickness and In Dreams, Dawnbringer has pulled off what has tragically become the rarest of feats in extreme metal music today: a distinctive and exciting album that is memorable and (dare I say it?) fun to listen to. Breaking new ground in metal is not an easy task and, in truth, it’s usually not worth the trouble anyway. With Pharoah and Superchrist, Mr. Black has helped to create some immensely enjoyable (albeit derivative) music. Each of those bands wears their metal heroes on their collective gauntlet, but at least they throw the damn thing down! In Sickness And In Dreams, however, is more cunning and clever in the way that it draws blood from an array of metal influences, seamlessly amalgamating sub-genres with remarkable focus and consistency. Black’s vocals jump from demonic Quarthonian snarls to witching Halfordesque falsettos and back. The lyrics are refreshingly vivid, cagey and opaque, but he seems to be simultaneously painting and addressing silhouettes of complex and imperfect characters and the imbalance left by their absence (...or something like that). The guitars find a way to straddle this confluence of metal styles and themes as Scott Hoffman thrashes along relentlessly while Matt Johnsen’s solos flare and flicker with the dramatic iridescence of prime-era Maiden and Priest, harmonies layered with bountiful gratuity. You will be amazed to find how many fresh ideas can still be found on an album that pretty much plays one beat the entire time (if you do not love that classic galloping hardcore/rockabilly/polka beat, this album is not for you). It is that paradoxical blend of naked simplicity and turbid convolution that makes this album so interesting. In an age when one-trick-pony bands pile on copious wankery and filler just to pass the time, Dawnbringer has managed to borrow elements from 25+ years of metal and smash it into one 24-and-a-half-minute eruption of power, glory, and thrash @#%$*ing metal! [www.battlekommand.com]