Of Decay and Desire

This was the third full-length from Germany’s (sadly now defunct) gloomy power metal act Dark At Dawn. It is becoming increasingly rarer that I see this band mentioned amongst metal circles, so I think it’s time to try and reignite some interest for this sorely underrated act.

For those completely unfamiliar with Dark At Dawn, the band’s sound is a subtle blend of the traditional German school of power metal with a lot of Swedish sensibility, and I feel this is in particular drawn from Morgana Lefay. Whilst Dark At Dawn are undeniably, well, dark; their sound houses all the melody required of the genre, but simultaneously wields a muscular edge that the Finnish and Italian schools – for the most part – can’t hold down.

A lot of this springs forth from Thorsten Kohlrausch’s passionate, throaty vocal approach. The closest comparisons I can draw to mind would be Sabaton’s Joakim Brodén and Morgana Lefay’s Charles Rytkönen. That isn’t to say that the music doesn’t convey the band’s darker aspirations. “Maid of Stone” in particular shows Dark At Dawn in sinister, heavy form and from this track it’s pretty clear to see that the band leans much harder on the bad-ass edge of the genre, rather than the flower.

Of Decay and Desire is an album I return to frequently, and it is certainly with good reason. There is nary a dud song the album’s forty five minutes. There are, however, some superb highlights. The double team of “Forever” and “The 5th Horseman” bang in the middle of the album showcases what I feel is best about Dark At Dawn. The former a mid-paced, highly melodic number that houses the album’s finest chorus, where as the latter is a stupendous power metal romp driven by a great, almost folky melody. Other standouts would have to include the brilliant “End of Ice: Warriorqueen” and the mighty “Weltenbrand”. However, I would say the majority of the album stands out as excellent.

Dark At Dawn never quite got the recognition they deserved, and maybe it was down to their rougher cut vocals. I must say though; it’s a crying shame these guys weren’t catapulted up into the power metal premier league. They had cuts and chops to rival some of the finest acts, and fans of bands from Savatage to Nocturnal Rites, and from Evergrey to Tad Morose should seek this out right away. Don’t let this band fade away into obscurity, listen to Of Decay and Desire: it’s absolutely awesome!

Originally written for

What a change. This is nowhere near as bleak and dark and "uncatchy" as Dark at Dawn's brooding sophomore effort Crimson Frost, being a full on Power Metal attack on the senses, with strong, articulate melodies accentuated with a crunchy, dense guitar tone and the rumbling bellow of vocalist Buddy Kohlrausch, who is a lot of the reason why this is so good. But really, it's just good music in general, not for any superficial reason, or for any progressive style of songwriting, complex instrumentation, lyrical slant, none of that. Of Decay and Desire is just a tour de force of extremely solid and powerful music, no other way to describe it. For those who are unfamiliar with the band, they play German Power Metal, but not in the style of bands like Helloween or Freedom Call, and not in the style of those like Wizard or Iron Savior, either. They boast a commendable, rhythm-heavy style of Metal with gruff, but tuneful, vocals, and beautiful, searing melodies that always remind me of the endless, wide blue ocean. This isn't exactly innovative, but it's much more original than what other bands are doing these days, no doubt about that.

Dark at Dawn, just like early 90s Savatage (think Edge of Thorns era), had refined their style to an art form with this album, and although this isn't near as proggy as Edge of Thorns was, the basic blueprint for the songwriting remains the same there and on this album. Their songwriting has streamlined quite a bit from the open, Fates Warning-esque progressive sound from the debut album, becoming a lot more verse/chorus/verse style, structurally, but accusing this band of selling out or trying to appeal to a wider audience would be ridiculous. Catchiness is a good thing (don't people like to be able to remember a good song?), and Dark at Dawn know how to write a catchy fucking song. There's a right way and a wrong way, and the line between them is not extremely bold, but it's definitely there, and Dark at Dawn have fallen clearly into the "good" camp. Don't be fooled by the shorter song times and the ballads/more "radio friendly" songs; this is about a thousand times better than anything I've ever heard on a mainstream radio station. This album is another one of those where you can pick any individual song and enjoy it just as much as you would if you played the whole album from start to end, and with standouts like "The Sleepwalker," "End of Ice - Warriorqueen," "Forever," "Rose of Tears," and the killer "One Night Fall," Of Decay and Desire is a masterclass in catchy, powerful music, and Dark at Dawn's finest album ever. Highly recommended.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com