DAWN OF RELIC – Night On Earth

This band was born as a project somewhere in the snow-capped landscapes of northern Finland by Jukka “Zann Path” Juntunen. In 1993, he released his first solo project demo, entitled Dawn of Relic, based mainly on keyboard atmospheric melodies and sounds. Juntunen took over the drummer/keyboardist role and added three more musicians in order to form a steady line up. The following years show the recording of four more demos, Of the Ambience, One Night in Carcosa, Wrathcaste (aka Lovecraftian Dark), and Rose Haven. The latter demo was an experimental one, that has remained unreleased.

In 2002, the band won the Metallian Magazine’s Best Unsigned Band Contest and eventually signed their first record deal with Season of Mist. Lovecraftian Dark was re-released, including Rose Haven as bonus material. During the composition of songs for the next album, vocalist Pekka Mustonen left the band in order to concentrate on his studies. The band finished the recordings of the new album with Kai Jaakkola behind the microphone as a session musician.

The album opens with a one minute intro called “Evenfall” that consists of a single guitar riff. The first song of the album, “Serpent Tongues,” kicks in with an almost Six Feet Under heavy guitar sound, and a death growl to complete the image. Just before the chorus, some Melodic Death influences appear that add some points to the sound diversity.

The aforementioned influences dominate the fast-paced “Birth,” bringing the band Dark Tranquility to mind. The keyboards make their presence perceivable in favor of the horror atmosphere created by the lyrics. Apart from that, the song follows the previous Melodic Death pattern with a slight tempo change.

“Sinbred City” holds some of the Black Metal characteristics that were more distinct in Lovecraftian Dark — fast drums and heavy riffing.

The small intro kicking off “Night on Earth” is a narration, possibly taken from a story by the American horror legend H.P. Lovecraft, who is the main source of inspiration for Dawn of Relic. The heavy guitar sound supports the mid tempo rhythm of this song, and the song has nothing new to add apart from the very good guitar solo and the catchy chorus.

The best guitar solo with a clear Heavy Metal origin can be found in “Nemesis.” The six minute song, “The Room of Paintings,” brings early the end of Night on Earth, checking in at only 30 minutes of total duration. These songs integrate some very good keyboard work that could have contributed more to the rest of the songs, possibly adding some points to the overall rating of the album.

Maybe the band or the record company rushed the release of Night on Earth before the line up was solidified with a full time singer and a bass player in order to work more on the already written material. Night on Earth proves that these guys have high composing and performing potential, and the Metal scene should indeed keep an eye on them for future releases.