Dawning

There are a handful of bands that emerged in the late 90s power metal scene via Limb Music that were, in spite of the heavy German and Italian tendencies of their more successful acts, quite unique and unfortunately short-lived in terms of regular studio output. On the one hand there was a somewhat backward looking Dutch outfit in Montany that was struggling to get something put out since the late 80s, and on the other, a very thrash oriented and somewhat punk infused Swedish outfit Rising Faith. But surprisingly enough, one of the more intricate and well accomplished outfits to offer its own twist for the Limb family was Archetype, one of the few American bands that would throw their hat into the right at this point and time.

It has been often pointed out that Archetype’s lone offering “Dawning” is a very different beast from what was the standard circa 2002, but in contrast with many who accent the latent progressive influences, I would assert this to be mostly a power metal album, albeit of the USPM variety. The speed/thrash drumming style with double bass work dominating the mix in European circles is largely absent, but the overall riff and melodic content is fairly catchy and traditionally oriented, albeit elaborate to the point of flirting with Pagan’s Mind and Communic. Indeed, if the occasional Jazz influenced section was cut out along with the sparsely utilized death style barks, this album would largely sound like a really fancy and modern sounding rehash of mid-80s Queensryche or Fates Warning.

However, the unique aspects of this album also proves to be its weak spot, as this album is pretty difficult to digest and requires a fair amount of time to fully comprehend. Some of it could be laid on the rapid rhythm switches and wandering riff work as heard on “Hands Of Time” and “Dawning”, and perhaps an additional culprit can be found in the overemphasis on lead guitar work and genre bending changeups as heard on “Premonitions” and “Visionary”, but there’s a lot of material to get through before getting to those magical chorus moments, even by high era Dream Theater standards. Pretty much the principle areas where things avoid getting overly complex is on “Final Day”, which consists of moderately all over the place sectional changeups and a discernable melodic progression, and the half-ballad “Arisen”, which spends about 2 minutes in a laid back ballad groove before launching into a punishingly fast gallop Iron Maiden style to close things off.

It can be very effectively argued that this is both a good and even great album, but this suffers from some accessibility issues, which is probably part of why the band hasn’t put anything else out in the past 8 years. They’ve got all the right elements, from a singer that sounds remarkably similar to a number of great 80s NWOBHM icons and is also capable of, to an entire outfit of musicians that are very capable at emulating a host of different styles. But unfortunately the one area where they came up a bit short is in the songwriting department. While this is only slightly more complex than your typical Pagan’s Mind album, many of the choruses are left wanting and the instrumental gymnastics tend to upstage the general flow of things. This will be an out and out winner for most shred fans, but otherwise it will tend to have a fairly small audience. Nonetheless, there is a lot of potential for development and renovation here, and news has it that these guys are back at it again, so they may be a band to watch in the near future.

I'd like to begin by pointing out that it is difficult to classify this album as belonging to any one genre. To me, the most fitting is prog. While there are certainly minute elements of power metal, as well as nods in the direction of thrash, there simply is too much other inspiration to call it one or another justifiably. This is all of course unimportant, as the music contained here is nothing short of genius.

Upon hearing Archetype for the first time, one thing struck me instantly - no keyboards. There are few bands out there that strive for this level of complexity without a keyboardist. I'm neither here nor there when it comes to having keyboards in a band, in some cases they are highly questionable, and in others the music would be barren without them. On Dawning, Archetype leaves no void. Keyboards would be too much, as the guitars are textured beautifully, and carry the melody better than most of Archetype's guitar/keyboard contemporaries could. That said, Chris Matyus' guitar playing is stunning. His blend of styles ranging from jazz and classical to modern "shredding" is extremely interesting. It's safe to say anyone who enjoy's top-notch guitarists in the vein of Petrucci or Satriani will love this album. Not to mention the stellar ryhtym section which easily rivals anything put out by Myung/Portnoy. The vocals, however, are where this album deviates from the norm. With bands like Dream Theater, for instance, you have a high-voiced often annoying singer who can take an otherwise amazing band and bring them down a peg or three. Greg Wagner not only avoids being annoying, he add's incredibly to the overall sound. His voice ranges from pretty low to decent falsetto range, but never overuses any one particular aspect. He does some more or less standard gruff metal vocals when the need arises, and sings hauntingly as the feeling dictates. There is certainly no lack of diversity with this line-up. One thing that you can't call them is power metal. That term is inappropriate here, as it brings assumptions of cheesy, flowery, lord of the rings filled prancing. They've written 11 songs of technical wizardry, rather than lyrics about wizards. There are many well-placed hooks interspersed among long intricate passages which challenge the listener in terms of fully understanding the music. This may turn some off, as it really demands your attention to appreciate.

The production on this album is of great quality as well. The vocals have a nice cold tone about them, which leaves room for the guitars to fit snugly in the mids with them. Drums are very nice, undoubtedly triggered...and bass takes a good chunk of the low range, and well into the mids. Everything is put in it's proper place to create a full-bodied album, one that is definitely for fans of dream theater or symphony x.

I can’t tell you how sick I get of standard power metal sometimes. If I am to listen to it these days, it has to be something exceptional like, say, Twisted Tower Dire’s Crest of the Martyrs. That’s why we have bands like Archetype – bands that deviate from the norm to deliver something that’s unexpected and most of all: fresh.

Fresh is the keyword here, as Archetype’s sound is a rare blend of styles, and their songwriting far removed from the standard formula. The best way to describe their sound is a mix of heavy metal (Iced Earth, maybe Blind Guardian) and power metal, written and played with the intricacy of progressive metal, but without the keyboards (though they use some). Their music doesn’t strike me as particularly heavy, but rather as technical, melodic and inventive, played with a lot of heart.

Dawningis the kind of album that doesn’t make much sense upon initial listening. It may strike you as strange, incoherent and overly technical. At least, that’s how I felt at first, a little anyway. After a few more listens that feeling went away though; as surely as the sun goes up, Archetype will convince you with their incredible talent. They have a superb guitar duo, bass and drums played with finesse, and what has to be a top 10 power metal vocalist in Greg Wagner.

Archetype’s songwriting reminds me a lot of Hammers of Misfortune’s, and maybe Pathosray’s. Their songs have a lot melody but they are the opposite of straightforward. Lots of bends and changes - they take a couple of detours here and there but somehow it doesn’t hurt the flow of the songs. Rather, it enhances them and makes them all the more compelling. This is definitely not the kind of simpleminded music that can be listened to in the background, but it’s incredibly rewarding if you put some time and effort into it.

As a debut this is fucking impressive. Every song here is a highlight and totally packed with catchy melodies, hooks and riffs, presented in state of the art production. No bad songs, no filler, just metal perfection all the way. There are too many hot chops to mention them all, but check out that deft guitar picking in ‘Arisen’, the melodic, acoustic intro of ‘Inside Your Dreams’, the guitar rhythms in ‘Dawning’ and the solos in ‘Premotions’ and ‘Visionary’. Greg Wagner himself is responsible for a lot of awesome moments on this album. What a talent he is – great range, pleasant voice, varied delivery and an amazing sense of melody. Check out the first couple of minutes of ‘Visionary’ -- that’s some jaw-dropping vocals right there.

With this fine debut, Archetype have established themselves as a true up and comer in the genre and it’s clear that they have all the necessary tools in their arsenal to go far. We need more of this type of music – Highly recommended.

I really enjoy this album. It may not musically be terribly original, but Archetype definitely have their own sound. It's refreshing to hear a prog/power band that doesn't use keyboards or double-bass runs. The songs are pretty "epic", and talk about fantasy and whatnot, the usual stuff, but it doesn't have any lame narration, and there may or may not be a concept to the album, but the band doesn't lean on it and frankly I don't care that much to find out. What really counts is obviously the music, which in this case is quite good. There's crushing metal riffs, great solos, and very impressive techinical stuff. There's emotive singing, and some quieter parts. Luckily the band steers AWAY from wanking, and solos are never just thrown in for no reason. Riffs are plentiful and good, drawing mostly from the power metal school of riffing, but with a definite prog edge. They definitely like their heavy metal too, though it's influence isn't so prevelent.

The guitarist is very good, and he multi-tracks himself so that there are essentially two guitars playing at all times. All their music is written with two guitar parts. The riffs are very good, catchy, often make use of some nice harmonization, and there are plenty of them. The leads are impressive, and never seem to get wankish or overdone. Also the leads aren't always just really fast note-fests; he also throws in some nice slow emotional melodic solos.

The vocalist is great, very talented with quite a good range, though he never goes too high above the mid-range. He's very powerful, and slightly reminiscent of Matt Barlowe of Iced Earth fame. The vocal melodies are good, but might take a few listens to get into, sort of like early Fates Warning. Unlike too many other power metal bands, there are no overblown choirs or anything like that. Sometimes he uses some multi-tracking, but it's tastefully done. Unfortunately he's no longer with the band, and I hope the guy they've replaced him with is as good.

The bassist is good, audible, though nothing spectacular. He gets the spotlight every now and then when he throws in a cool lick, and that's good enough for me.

The drummer is great, and while he's rather flashy at times, he's still very good and quite varied, and isn't overblown and doesn't play endless double-bass crap. He doesn't just play the beat all the time, sometimes he actually takes part in the riffage sometimes, which is pretty cool. Definitely an entertaining and talented drummer.

The production is just about flawless, every instrument is perfectly audible, and the guitars even have a little bit of a raw sound. The instruments all have a nice warm sound, and I especially like the drum tone they have on here. The guitars are up front with the vocals, but the bass and drums are nicely audible as well. Considering these guys are an underground band and this is their first full-length release, I'm rather impressed with the production.

All in all, I'd say this is a solid album. My only gripe with it is that it's rather long, but it's gripping, emotive power/prog release, without being sugar-coated at all. It's a bit cheesey at times, but it never gets too bad. It might take a few listens to get into, but it's most certainly worth it.