Before The Dawn - The Ghost
Locomotive Music
Gothic Metal with Melodeath influences
10 songs (40:43)
Release year: 2006
Before The Dawn, Locomotive Music
Reviewed by Khelek
Archive review

This is the third album I have heard by Finnish gothic metal band Before The Dawn, and so far the one I like most. Started in 1999 by singer/guitarist Tuomas Saukkonen, the band has gone through a few changes at this point in their career, but has stayed true to their melodeath/gothic sound. One thing that I personally was never a big fan of was the clean singing of Panu Willman, who on this album has been replaced by the more capable Lars Eikind. In terms of songwriting and overall sound nothing has really changed, and the band remains talented yet not all that interesting. This album certainly has its moments, though they are unfortunately far apart and not numerous enough to make this a really great release. Nevertheless this is a well done album, and especially listenable if you really enjoy this genre.

Right from the start Disappear shows that Eikind has a great clean voice that definitely fits the sound of this band. It's not a very interesting song overall, but it gets things going in the right direction. Fade Away is the first song that really catches my attention with some more interesting guitar work and a nice guitar solo that really fits the song and the other riffs used here. It's a catchy and memorable song that keeps with the melancholy gothic feeling. I also like the guitars in both Black Dawn and Enemy; they help create the atmosphere of desolation that this music often strives for and it also remains interesting. The clean vocals aren't bad on Black Dawn, but the whispered growls really aren't my thing, especially when overused like they are here. I also like the clean singing in Scar, very melodic and quite fitting. This is a song with lots of melody but still keeps with the overall heaviness of the album. As a whole the album is mostly mid-paced heavy riffs with some melodic leads and solos to add that gothic melancholy feeling. Enemy begins with melodic and memorable guitars, but the song takes a bit too long to get rolling in my opinion. I have to wait too long before the vocals come in and the guitar riffs that come in after the interesting lead are pretty boring. It's a shame because I feel this could have been one of the best songs the band has done, but it ends up just being good. Stormbringer is quite catchy, a bit faster and catchier, a song you can really sing along to. This is followed by the sheer heaviness of Ghost Town, but it unfortunately breaks down halfway through the song with hardcore influences and just plain silly vocals.

This is also not a big improvement from the last album, which stayed at the same pace and incorporated the same sounding riffs and vocals, although the clean vocals are certainly better. Once again this is a good album for those who really enjoy doomy gothic metal with a mixture of clean and growled vocals. If that's the style you really enjoy, you'll probably like this album. However if you're just looking for something new to try, it is more than likely you will find this unimpressive. I would say it would be a good way to get into this particular genre, though there are definitely bands that do the same types of things, but more creatively. This is another good album from the Finnish gothic metallers, but I do hope to hear them evolve their sound a bit more in subsequent releases.

Killing Songs :
Fade Away, Black Dawn, Stormbringer
Khelek quoted 79 / 100
Other albums by Before The Dawn that we have reviewed:
Before The Dawn - 4:17 am reviewed by Khelek and quoted 78 / 100
Before The Dawn - My Darkness reviewed by Khelek and quoted 74 / 100
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