MERIDIAN DAWN delivers what can only be described as an onslaught of Melodic Death Metal right from the furious start of this album. They already have an EP titled The Mixtape in their discography. Antony Hämäläinen on intense guttural vocals, brilliant guitarist & bassist Nick Ziros and the superb skills of drummer Johan Nunez with his KAMELOT and FIREWIND background. This savage combination takes having a debut album to a new level by already having a well established sound to their music.
This album definitely doesn’t waste any time in unleashing it’s power. As the opening track of the album, Iconic demonstrates by kickstarting a hyperdrive of Melodic Metal. This consists of a furious combination of thundering drums, fantastically executed bass lines and a very nice injection of guitar riffs throughout. The intense and guttural vocals on this song are accompanied by lyrics such as “Loathing for this hate to come, we are seeking ignition. Bending to vibration, with no soul.” This adds to the sensation of the whole album being powerful infusion of Melodic sounds and Death Metal.
The title track continues this furious blend of bass lines, pounding drums and guttural vocals. As well as being one of the heaviest tracks on the album, this is a superb example of the bands Melodic Death sound that echoes throughout.
With A Heavy Burden opens intricately with a similar vibe to KAMELOT’S Citizen Zero. This is before erupting into a barrage of soaring melodies and guttural vocals that throughout this album definitely leaves it’s impact on the listener.
God To All starts with a nice flurry of well executed guitar riffs and bass lines from Nick alongside the ever present thundering from drummer Johan Nunez. This is definitely one of the stand out tracks on the album too as it gives the feeling that Antony Hämäläinen is indeed projecting his guttural vocals directly from the ether.
Involuntary Seclusion, Luminescent, It’s All A Dream and Thieves really showcases that feeling of being a well established band. Not only by how well interwoven the melodies are on these songs but the harshness of the gutturals are at the very least, intense. Also lyrically on these songs too, especially on It’s All A Dream with it’s perception of life and death “It’s all a dream, take me away from this hatred. Do you want to know, who’s the first to go. It’s like me, I die slow.”
The album closes with Dressed In Ice. Between the soaring guitar riffs, the impactful drumming and the intense vocals of Antony. There are a few cleverly added clean vocal parts too just like with Iconic. This song definitely takes the album out with a bang.
If you’re a fan of bands such as SCARPOINT, ARCH ENEMY and DARK TRANQUILITY, then I would definitely recommend this album.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Stefan Chilvers
The Fever Syndrome is out now.
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