"Spooky scary skeletons send shivers down your spine.." Black metal is a funny old thing...for a genre so steeped in Satanic influence, dark, conceptual demonic imagery and unrelenting fury, it remains to be quite sacred, and however far it's come over the past 30 years or so, it's still predominantly underground and to a degree, it's still within the confines of a cult following of die-hard's and purists. That's not quite to say it's exclusive, not at all, but it is something you generally have to seek out. Another thing about black metal is it loves to pay homage to it's roots; there's a deep level of respect for the old-school, when things were raw and real. It's not always easy to achieve nowadays with the advances in technology and studio production but believe me when I say DAWN OF TYRANTS have come pretty fucking close! Their self-released debut EP "Breeding Ruin" dropped on January 11th...let's check it out.
We begin with the despairing yet aptly titled "Some Above, Most Below" given the state of humanity these days, and my god this sounds evil. The growls of vocalist / bassist W.T have been vomited up directly from the bile-filled cesspit of hell itself, while the guitar work of N.T is laced with rich, classic thrash metal inspired riff-age among it's sinister tones. The suggestion that the majority of people are hell-bound makes for an interesting opener and lays the model for this EP down early on.
"What Can Be Broken...Must Be Broken" utilises a more up-tempo, frenetic energy and showcases the bands influences clearly...ranging from Finnish black metal outfit BEHERIT to fellow Canadian thrash metal maestros SACRIFICE, mostly centred around the 80's heydays of extreme metal's conception, as I said, roots are important and respected, but there's also modern influence from the likes of Switzerland's BÖLZER too, blending together to make something truly mortifying. The title track itself is unrelenting and will appease two sets of fans in a black/thrash crossover of devilish intensity, before we finish up on something a little special, and a treat for old-school fans; a cover of "Dethroned Emperor" by CELTIC FROST from way back in 1984, breathing new life into a genre classic.
Canada may be known for it's passion for ice hockey, Bret "The Hitman" Hart and being the butt of the joke in South Park...but if this Toronto-trio keep breeding ruin then you can add black metal to that list too, the dawn of tyrants maybe upon us...we just hope it's musical and in no way related to Donald Trump. [6]
We begin with the despairing yet aptly titled "Some Above, Most Below" given the state of humanity these days, and my god this sounds evil. The growls of vocalist / bassist W.T have been vomited up directly from the bile-filled cesspit of hell itself, while the guitar work of N.T is laced with rich, classic thrash metal inspired riff-age among it's sinister tones. The suggestion that the majority of people are hell-bound makes for an interesting opener and lays the model for this EP down early on.
"What Can Be Broken...Must Be Broken" utilises a more up-tempo, frenetic energy and showcases the bands influences clearly...ranging from Finnish black metal outfit BEHERIT to fellow Canadian thrash metal maestros SACRIFICE, mostly centred around the 80's heydays of extreme metal's conception, as I said, roots are important and respected, but there's also modern influence from the likes of Switzerland's BÖLZER too, blending together to make something truly mortifying. The title track itself is unrelenting and will appease two sets of fans in a black/thrash crossover of devilish intensity, before we finish up on something a little special, and a treat for old-school fans; a cover of "Dethroned Emperor" by CELTIC FROST from way back in 1984, breathing new life into a genre classic.
Canada may be known for it's passion for ice hockey, Bret "The Hitman" Hart and being the butt of the joke in South Park...but if this Toronto-trio keep breeding ruin then you can add black metal to that list too, the dawn of tyrants maybe upon us...we just hope it's musical and in no way related to Donald Trump. [6]
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