Year : 2010 (Cyclone Empire Records Edition 2011)
Style : Melodic Death Metal , Gothic Metal
Country : Finland
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 62 mb
Bio:
The band was founded in 1999 by Tuomas Saukkonen as his solo project: "I played and recorded all instruments in the first demo To Desire Part 1 by on my own then for the second demo I had a friend of mine on the drums. The first line-up was gathered so that BTD could perform live. With many changes in the line up BTD entered the studio to record the MCD called Gehenna. I received couple of deal offers but nothing serious enough. BTD continued playing gigs and I kept on writing lots of new material, and the next MCD called My Darkness got very good feedback and a serious enough record deal was offered by Locomotive Music." Joined by Panu Willman, Mike Ojala, and Kimmo Nurmi, the newly formed lineup released their first full-length album, My Darkness, in 2003. It was followed up by a second album in 2004, 4:17 am. The band supported Katatonia on a Scandinavian and European tour in 2003.The Ghost followed, released in 2006.Because of the huge amount of song material written for that album, Saukkonen created another album, The Darkness, for a side-project, Dawn of Solace.With Lars and Juho as new permanent band members, the band released the next full-length album Deadlight in 2007.The single "Deadsong", released in February 2007, immediately reached #2 on Finnish Top 20 charts; for four months it remained among the Top 20 of Finnish Radio Rock. The single "Faithless" featuring Jone Nikula on the Pantera cover "Mouth for War", reached #2 on the Finland Top 20 charts for the week of 15 July 2007.During the recording sessions for the fifth studio album Soundscape of Silence, drummer Dani Miettinen dropped out; the band decided to leave the position vacant and work with session drummers for live shows (e.g. Matti Auerkallio). Right after its release at the end of October 2008, Soundscape of Silence went to the top 20 of Finnish album charts (#14).The core band members were later joined by drummer Atte Palokangas (from the band Agonizer). Atte became an official new band member in mid-2009, and Before the Dawn supported Amorphis on their Forging Europe Tour in late 2009 with a completed line-up.The anniversary EP Decade of Darkness went straight to #1 on Finnish single charts after its release in spring 2010.The music video for "End of Days" from this EP was released throughout Europe and in Japan; it shows footage from the band's 2010 shows in Asia. The European edition of this EP, released in February 2011, contains a bonus DVD with footage of the band's concert at German Summerbreeze Festival 2009.Before the Dawn in 2009: In February 2011, Tuomas Saukkonen won the Finnish Metal Award in the category "Best Instrumentalist"; Before the Dawn reached #3 in the category "Best Band".Tuomas defended this title successfully in the year 2012 as well.The new album Deathstar Rising cracked the Finnish Album Top 10 and reached #8 in first week of March 2011.In June 2011 bassist and vocalist Lars and drummer Atte left the band; Lars for personal reasons and Atte for musical reasons.On 25 January 2012 the band announced on their Facebook page that Rise of the Phoenix would be the title of their new album. It was released through Nuclear Blast Records on 27 April 2012.On 10 January 2013 through a press statement, Tuomas Saukkonen announced that he was putting Before the Dawn to rest along with his other active bands (Black Sun Aeon and RoutaSielu), ending them in order to create new project called "Wolfheart", which he will entirely focus from now on.In 2021, Before the Dawn was reformed. On 30 April, the band released the single "The Final Storm". The single was made for the Deadlight reissue which was released in 9 July 2021.On 7 September 2022 BTD announced that a new member Paavo Laapotti joins the band as a vocalist, while Tuomas takes up live drumming. Laapotti brought attention of the band during The Voice of Finland where he sang a Before the Dawn song called Deadsong. An album titled Stormbringers was released on 30 June 2023.On 7 February 2024, they announced a new EP Archaic Flame, its title song is available online. The premiere of the new EP is scheduled to be released on 8 March.It is followed by their ninth studio album, Cold Flare Eternal, released on 5 September 2025.
Album:
Outside of their native Finland, Before The Dawn are a little known band. They've been described as melodic death metal, but with a 'gothic' twist. After a 10 year long career, they've released this new EP which I can only describe as the perfected record for all their material so far (much in the same way as Meshuggahs 'ObZen'). Their sound is based on the 'idea' of melodeath, but its a more simplified form. The riffs are mostly powerchorded and simplistic, while leads like solos and fills are uncommon in their music, although they play at fast paces. However, this is due to the 'gothic' nature they have too, as those characteristics apply to gothic metal as well. What makes it all the more intersting is the operatic clean vocals that accompany the music. This formula has made them a very popular act in Finland and scandinavia. So much so infact, this very EP made it to the #1 spot in the Finnish music charts in early April, beating acts like BFMV and Cradle of Filth (and even Pink) and scoring high in the charts too in the rest of Scandinavia. The band really manage to create perfect song-writing, combining powerful hooks and riffs with soft and soaring melodies. The EP itself is what I feel is the best recording they've made so far. This is due to previous efforts having terrible mixing issues (especially the vocals) and containing few standout songs (listening to the album as a whole is what makes them sound good). The EP contains 4 new studio tracks, 2 'live' tracks and a symphonic/piano version of a previous single ('Deadsong').Before The Dawn are influenced by gothic music, so naturaly they focus around related themes such as isolation, depression and poetic stories. There are a few recurring themes within their lyrics and songs, most notably, what I call the 4am theme: It starts with their 2nd album title (4:17) which continues to the single "Dying Sun" on their Soundscape Of Silence album (Lyric: 'Dead, at 4:18 am') and finally on this EP in the song 'Insomnia' (which is a very relaxing accoustic song) with the lyric: "4:19 am, I have been here before in a corner on the floor". I'm not sure about the story line presented, although it seems to be about one particular individual remembering certain events that lead him to depression. General lyrics are a little cliche as far as gothic music goes, many mentions of the words "dead", "dying", "black" and "angels" but the stories contained in the songs fit with the melodies the band play. Vocals are handled by band mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen on growls and cleans are handled by Lars Eikind, known for playing in a variety of supergroups (Age of Silence, Winds) and also well known for his signature operatic voice. Both perform on the EP very well and really show why they're among the most popular musicians in Finland.Before The Dawn are mostly in a league of their own, sharing few similarities with related bands and other melodic death metal bands and they're not exactly hard to get into. The only bad thing with the EP and the music is the general simplicity, but even so, its not exactly deathcore. The songs to listen to are "Decade Of Darkness", "Painless" (if you get the Japanese edition) and "Insomnia" but really, the whole EP is great and the piano version of "Deadsong" is a much needed listen. Be sure to listen to the EP and pay attention to the possible upcoming album next year.
Line Up:
Tuomas Saukkonen - Guitars (rhythm, acoustic) (1999-2013, 2021-present), Vocals (harsh) (1999-2013, 2021-2022), Keyboards (2004-2013), Bass (2005), Drums (2021-present) - See also: Crowen, Dawn of Solace, Wolfheart, ex-Black Sun Aeon, ex-Bonegrinder, ex-RoutaSielu, ex-The Final Harvest, ex-Jumalhämärä, ex-Rajavyöhyke
Juho Räihä - Guitars (lead) (2007-2013, 2021-present) - See also: Gloria Morti, I Am the Night, Riverside Syndicate, Swallow the Sun, ex-Hedonihil, ex-Hallatar (live), ex-Red Moon Architect (live), ex-Wolfheart (live)
Lars Eikind - Bass, Vocals (clean)
Atte Palokangas - Drums
Production:
Recorded At – SoundSpiral Studio
Mixed At – SoundSpiral Studio
Recorded At – Summer Breeze Festival
Mastered At – Biotech Audio Solutions
Arranged By [Clean vocal arrangements and melodies] – Lars Eikind, Tuomas Saukkonen
Artwork [Cover Art and Design] – Antti "nessu" Jokinen
Mastered By [DOD was mastered] – Sami Koivisto
Music By, Lyrics By – Tuomas Saukkonen
Photography By [Cover Pictures] – Anthony Dubois, Shelley Jambresic, Suvi Mikkola
Recorded By [DOD was recorded], Mixed By [DOD was mixed] – Juho Räihä
Recorded By [DVD Recorded live] – Roax Films
Tracklist:
01. Decade of Darkness 04:20
02. End of Days 03:57
03. Insomnia 03:25
04. Painless 02:51
05. Painless (live) 03:11
06. Deadsong (live) 04:02
07. Deadsong (Symphony Version) 04:24
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
