FRENZY FIRE

    

METAL & ROCK REVIEWS

    
             
HOME            
REVIEWS            
ARTISTS            
UPCOMING            
LINKS            
             

     
     
     
         
         

A Trip Of Violence E.P.

      
         
         
         
     
             
Dawn Ahead are a thrash metal band from Germany formed in 2011 by guitarist and songwriter Thomas Wolf and bassist Alfonso "Pocho" Mejia. The band follows the brutal and aggressive sound that German thrash metal legends Kreator founded back in the eighties. 2014 saw the release of the bands self titled E.P. with their second E.P. 'A Trip Of Violence', a 2018 release.    
             
And what a trip this E.P. is! Powering into life with a raucous guitar riff and steaming on at full tilt, 'Sinister Thoughts' is an aggressive opener. The opening vocal style is of the gruff, rough and growled nature and plants an intense, sinister feel on the song. As 'Sinister Thoughts' progresses, the vocal style changes to the cleaner style, yet none of the songs intensity is lost. An explosive opening salvo is quickly followed by 'A Trip Into The Dark', again opening with growled vocals as it doom metal style slams its way into life. Very heavy hitting, 'A Trip Into The Dark' picks up the pace and rockets on at speed, cleaner vocals emerging as the song hits high velocity. The intensity and energy that oozes from the opening two songs is off the scale, with head banging of the violent and vigorous nature the only style of head banging suitable for this type of thrash metal.    
             
'A Taste Of Violence' is an apt title for a song by a thrash metal band that delivers an intense level of aggression and brutality through their music. Fast paced and thunderous, 'A Taste Of Violence' mixes both vocal styles to perfection, and even throws in a catchy sing a long style chorus... Music influences by Kreator, Slayer and Metallica can be detected throughout the E.P. with every song intense, in your face and a bloody great listen. At six and a half minutes in length, 'The Betrayal' is by far, the longest song on offer and is an exhilarating journey through the genres of death, thrash and traditional heavy metal. Displaying the finesse of mid eighties Metallica, the band excels with 'The Betrayal', a song that towers head and shoulders above the other five songs on offer.    
             
'Capturing Hell', (if that's at all possible!) opens with the most traditional heavy metal sound across the E.P. and foot stomps heavily on. More mid tempo than any other song, 'Capturing Hell' is hard hitting, sharp edged heavy metal, with just the lightest touches of the thrash and death metal styles. The final song on offer had me breaking into a cold sweat when I first read its title, 'The One And Only' . . . now, for those too young to know or those who don't remember, 'The One And Only' was a one hit wonder in 1991 for British pop singer Chesney Hawkes, and I was afraid that Dawn Ahead had covered it! But thankfully they haven't...phew what a relief. 'The One And Only', the Dawn Ahead song, demonstrates the bands leaning to a more progressive metal style, dropping some of the intensity and aggression heard everywhere else on the E.P. Not a bad thing though, as it shows the bands willingness to experiment and push their musical boundaries.    
             
Overall, fast paced and aggressive thrash metal to head bang furiously to, Dawn Ahead are an exciting blend of old school death, thrash and speed metal.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metalmessage    
             
Review is also featured at Metal Gods TV    
             
Top