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Entombed A.D. - Dead Dawn review



Reviewer:
8.2

77 users:
7.43
Band: Entombed A.D.
Album: Dead Dawn
Release date: February 2016


01. Midas In Reverse
02. Dead Dawn
03. Down To Mars To Ride
04. As The World Fell
05. Total Death
06. The Winner Has Lost
07. Silent Assassin
08. Hubris Fall
09. Black Survival
10. Not What It Seems

Entombed lives. Alex Hellid's incarnation may currently retain the rights to the name, but LG Petrov took more than three other members with him when he departed in 2014. Back To The Front made for an impressive comeback, and now Dead Dawn proves that Entombed A.D.'s initial success was no fluke.

Aside from its predecessor, Dead Dawn is the liveliest and most impassioned work the former Entombed crew has put out in years. Of course, aside from its predecessor, Dead Dawn is the only thing they've put out in years. Few death metal albums can truly compare to that glorious pair of Clandestine and Left Hand Path, but when I listen to Dead Dawn and Back To The Front, I feel a strong sense of continuity with classic death-era Entombed that I don't feel when I listen to Serpent Saints or Morning Star or Wolverine Blues (and not only because of the death'n'roll thing, which accounts for a fairly obvious disconnect).

It sounds as though Entombed A.D. let loose on Back To The Front the ideas that had been festering for years under the original Entombed name, and continued down a different path on Dead Dawn after the reorganization of mission objectives. Where Back To The Front followed a heavily death- and thrash-oriented trail not unfamiliar to the band, Dead Dawn introduces some thrashier and crustier-punker (?) influences. The album still pulls out some more traditionally Entombed-style numbers, like the pure evil title track, the lumbering "Hubris Fall" or the half-groovy, half-furious "Black Survival," which sounds like it was ripped from the To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth sessions, but the blistering "Midas In Reverse" sets the tone very well with its half- Entombed, half- Testament breakneck thrashing.

The muffled guitars and overall soft production confuse the sense that the album tries to convey; with most songs written for a reckless and raw punk/thrash, Dead Dawn feels much too contained and stifled. The album gets halfway to bloody Swedeath crunch before placing pillows in front of the amps. I'd love to hear these songs sliced up with the rusty razors that made early Entombed what it was. Still, it's nice just to hear some well-written material follow up a spectacular debut, and LG's guttural shouts sound as pleasantly convulsive as ever.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 6





Written on 20.04.2016 by I'm the reviewer, and that means my opinion is correct.


Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 185 users
21.04.2016 - 19:45
BlueMobius
Account deleted
Saw them Sunday with Amon Amarth and they played several new tracks. The Winner Has Lost was great live.
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