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Gates of Ishtar > The Dawn of Flames > Reviews
Gates of Ishtar - The Dawn of Flames

Tease us with your teats, swords & sorcery, o melodeath nerds - 75%

autothrall, January 27th, 2023
Written based on this version: 1997, CD, Invasion Records

The one with the boobs flopping out. The Dawn of Flames arrived to me first as a promo when I was doing the paper zine thing back in the 90s, I don't believe it was the version where they had hooked up with German Invasion Records, but another licensed version. It was already a little surprising that Gates of Ishtar hadn't taken over the world in the year since their debut, and like that, I wasn't immediately smitten with what was on the album, but like A Bloodred Path, this is one that has aged well enough that it's become a backup when I'm seeking out bands in this mid-range melodeath genre, and I'm just not in the mood for my favorite bands of the form like Darkane, Soilwork or the 90s material from At the Gates and In Flames.

The band hadn't really had a large amount of time to mature through their releases, but having said that, The Dawn of Flames is a little more laid back and seasoned, and even I dare say a little less intense. The band were settled into writing melodic songs with a clear heavy metal background, and wanted to go a little less pedal to the metal and instead branch out dynamically. So some of the rhythms in tracks like "Trail of Tears" might seem almost pedestrian by comparison, but they are still well-seeded with riffing ideas, patterns that attach right to any melodeath fan's ear-space, and even some guest synthesizers and pianos from one Dan Swanö, who also produced the disc. His mix here is a little more washed out, atmospheric, less straight to the grill than A Bloodred Path, but then I think that tends to suit the song selection here a little more, even if it might have felt disappointing to a few fans. When the material here does speed up ("Forever Scarred", "Dream Field", etc), it does feel like a direct extension of what they put out the years before, but there's enough of a minor difference to the sophomore that some 'growth' had been achieved.

As for myself, I slightly prefer the debut because I'm not entirely in love with the production to this, but for individual song quality they're on somewhat even ground. I like the cover for its color palette and mammary appreciation, but I don't think it fits the band's lyrics or concepts whatsoever. You'd see that and probably expect some barbaric heavy metal circa Manowar, Cirith Ungol or Holland's Goddess of Desire, but it's a little out of place with the introspective lyrics and melody here. Nitpicking though, because this is a solid if not wholly remarkable follow-up that I still value when I'm in the mood to wax nostalgic about all those underground 90s melodeath acts my friends and I used to follow.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

A Unique Blend of Amazing - 97%

scarsymmetry666, July 22nd, 2016

Gates of Ishtar is a band I am quite familiar with. They have a certain infectious quality about them that keeps drawing me back. They certainly sound like they are paying a lot of homage to NWOBHM, more so than most melodeath bands. This is some incredibly well done songwriting. Some of the guitar melodies are downright infectious, and will have people like me who love NWOBHM riffage getting all giddy. Songs are fast, and the production is cold and solid. The overall sound of the album is very unique and accomplishes something of a threesome between black/melodic/heavy metal.

Everything here sounds top notch. You will be headbanging and taken away on a blissful melodic guitar journey at every step of this wonderful album. So many songs stand out from this album that it is hard to pick apart every one of them. Each song sounds totally unique, nothing feels boring and every song is a new experience. The band almost has a power metal like vibe, except replacing those "happy" guitar sounds with solemn and mellow downtuned melody. It all fits together incredibly well. The dual guitar melodies are downright blissful and catchy enough to keep you coming back for more.

A notable song is Trail Of Tears, which takes you on a journey of despair mixed with sadness and a touch of hopelessness. Every emotion is conveyed perfectly, the message of the lyrics resonates with the guitar, vocals, drums. Whatever this band was going for, they succeeded. This is an impeccably unique and well done album, and Gates Of Ishtar has a style that definitely deserves much more praise. The vocalist is top notch, you can feel the despair and suffering in his voice as the guitars carry you off to the icy and mellow world that is The Dawn Of Flames. Its not often where an album is an experience in and of itself, but this is definitely a cut from a different cloth. There is speed, there is brutality, and there is plenty of emotion and melody.

If you are thinking about checking this album out, I advise you buy it. A masterpiece in its own right. Definitely a melodeath staple crafting its own niche among all the others.

brilliant songwriting (part 2) - 95%

RussianMetalHead, December 25th, 2009

‘Dawn of Flames’ represents an example of the amazing songwriting in the extreme metal arena. From a melodic death metal perspective, this album, in my opinion is the masterpiece in the ocean of releases from the overcrowded genre. It is quite sad that the Gates of Ishtar existed only for few years; the music they created still stands out in the Swedish death metal arena, all three albums.

So, let’s get down to the music. ‘Dawn of Flames’ provides a slightly raw, and aggressive version of melodic death metal with as razor sharp riffing, sometimes borderline in the black metal territory, generally played in a cyclical manner with fluent changes; such a changes are characterized with an extremely elegant melodic foundations, tight rhythm section, and harsh blackened vocal delivery. Songs are carefully composed, and incorporate influences from black metal, death metal, and traditional heavy metal. The opener ‘Perpetual Down’ sort of represents a good introduction to the Gates of Ishtar - excellent placed keyboards, razor sharp riffing, misanthropic classic heavy metal influenced chorus sections, excellent brutal and emotional vocals, blasphemous lyrics, plus the delicious melodic guitar solo in the end. The next song ‘Trail of Tears’ kills with the monstrous vocal delivery, and the icy melodies. It is really not a very useful idea to mention an every song, because, it is a very organic album with no fillers. Luck of metalcore influences, plus the nice elements of melodic death metal, black metal, traditional heavy metal, with an accent on an elegant songwriting makes this album a absolutely must have for any person who likes the good music, regardless of styles.

Also, the melodies create a very nice misanthropic atmosphere, which many melodic death metal bands lost due a bastardized abuse of an overly sugary melodies, and overproduced synthetic sound (In Flames anyone?) ‘Dawn of Flames’ represents the melodic death metal the way it meant to be. Orgasmic.

No Reasons To Overlook This! - 92%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, July 7th, 2008

It took just one year for Gates Of Ishtar to release another great album. This band never released weak efforts and this The Dawn Of Flames is here to prove it once again. This time the production is better than in their debut but the Dissection spectrum always flies through the new compositions, even if they are a bit more canonical now, if we talk about the classic melodic death metal. The sounds are clearer and pounding with a great guitar distortion that conserves a bit of that rough and low tuned sound.

The vocals are always on not too extreme shrieks, taking inspiration also form the very first wave of the melodic death metal. The first song is impressive and easily the song masterpiece of the album. It starts with ethereal, magic melodies by the keyboards with the support of the guitars. The arpeggios, for the way they sound, are very similar to the one by the modern Hypocrisy just to give you the idea. The melody of the fast guitars is always present and it’s not the happy one but the sad and nostalgic one.

The solos on this album are fantastic and they are never too fast or with too tremolo pickings. They must complete the sad melody begun by the rhythmic guitars. Other great examples are “Trail Of Tears” and “Eternal Sin” where the fast drums tempo supports perfectly the disheartened palm muting riffage of the guitars. The vocals are pure suffering and you can feel the desperation on these compositions. The open chords riffs are always a bit in Dissection direction and that’s great to fill the nostalgic sound with frozen melodies and sound. A good example is the internally devastating “Forever Scarred”.

The burden of pure desperation of these songs is unbelievable and as I said, the up tempo parts go perfectly hand in hand with the sad riffage. This opposition is perfect to fulfil this kind of music. The blast beats put their head out in “Dream Field” and in the title track while the melodies by the guitars are always there to fill our hearts with melancholy and despair. Both the lead guitar and the rhythmic one contribute to these pieces of pure sadness in a perfect and personal way.

As you can see, the length of the songs is longer and the absence of fillers testifies the goodness of the new composition, united to a conquered musical maturity. The piano parts on the title track fit into this sound perfectly and the raging parts are perfectly balanced with melodic tunes. The refrains are always perfectly set in the songs and that is very important for a melodic death band. The glacial and violent riffs of “No Time” and the epic feeling of “The Embrace Of Winter” end this great album of pure melodic death metal.

It’s a good occasion to brush up your mind for this kind of music and I feel to recommend this also to the new metalheads who listen to new In Flames too much. This is true melodic death metal and it’s made of pure class with the perfect balance of anger and sadness. Take it without fears.

A Classic Melodic Death Masterpiece - 100%

Messiah_X, October 27th, 2003

Gates of Ishtar is one of those bands that most people know about, but nobody really talks about. This is partially due to the fact that they split up, but another aspect that contributes to their lack of credit is the fact that they have always been shadowed by more legendary Swedish acts such as At the Gates and Dark Tranquility. Gates of Ishtar present a more original sound than the typical Swedish melodic death band, and do it remarkably well. This is their best album, and it has some great songs. The vocals are harsh, but easy to understand. Unfortunately, after splitting up, they formed Duskfall, which is nowhere near as good as Gates of Ishtar.

Dawn of Flames is the album that Gates of Ishtar is most known for The album opens up with Perpetual Dawn, which starts off with a slow, haunting melody, which quickly progresses to an all-out assault of melodic speed. Trail of Tears follows the intro song with one of the catchiest melodic death tunes I've ever heard. There are no bad songs on this album, but the highlights include Perpetual Dawn, Trail of Tears, Dreamfields, Dawn of Flames, and Embrace of Winter. This album is highly recommended to anyone who likes catchy metal tunes, even if its just a way to take a break from some of the grim or brutal bands we all love.