Tales of the Black Dawn

So, I reviewed Post Mortem Nihil Est close to a year ago, and was pretty much prepared to write Dagoba off entirely unless some big deviation was on this horizon. I remember musing on the fact that new guitarist Yves Terzibachian didn't feel like the most obvious or natural choice to fill Izakar's shoes, deferring to a more stale death metal style as opposed to the groovy, mechanized jaunt the band more or less perfected (or however close they ever came to nailing down their sound) on What Hell Is About. So here we are with Tales of the Black Dawn, which seemingly came out of fucking nowhere and pretty much wipes the stylistic slate clean for the first time ever in the band's history. Post Mortem Nihil Est was sort of caught between two guitarists and suffered in both focus and aptitude as a result, but this album is something else entirely.

Tales of the Black Dawn is more "death metal" than anything the band has released up to this point, meaning that the band took my criticisms to heart and decided to allow Terzibachian to feel out his own guitar patterns instead of trying to call back the older sound, one which honestly isn't imitable since Izakar had a very distinct groovy style. The result is an album that just doesn't particularly sound like Dagoba, so much so that those who have instinctively written the band off over the years might find this album a more compelling listen. Although I found this somewhat off-putting at first blush, it really began to grow on me once I started appreciating the more refined killer instinct and higher replay value. The approach here is loud and verbose, filling out grooves with mechanical exaction in a style not too far removed from Fear Factory or perhaps a less technical Divine Heresy. I was never one to group Dagoba in with Fear Factory and always considered that parallel sort of ephemeral, but it seems to fit a lot better here. Pierre Maille (I always assumed his surname was Oymyakon but I guess that is a pseudonym as well) is still delivering his caustic grunts in his typical style, although there is a concerning lack of his shouted cleans throughout. I'm not saying that was ever a strength of his, but that is a very distinct Dagoba trait that I sort of miss here.

In any event, the production on Tales of the Black Hearts has to be the strongest the band has ever committed to disc. The abrasive ambiance of records like What Hell Is About is sort of lost in the translation, and there are barely any keyboards. When they do appear they are in that typical orchestral style the band has always been keen to emphasize, falling closest to Face the Colossus in style and execution. The guitars sound thick and emphasize both the massive, lethargic grooves and the heavy use of tremolo picking. Terzibachian is totally killing it here so it is great to see this strength emphasized, especially for a band that has historically had difficulty pinning down fitting production values. Thankfully, the band's primal aggression is fully intact, channeled through focused songwriting that eschews the unnecessarily orchestral pomp that enervated much of their earlier material. These songs are so compact and brutal, with the more convincing examples being "The Sunset Curse" and especially "Born Twice," which is a true riff monster that I can't get enough of.

The band is still keen to use sampling, but here it is kept to a minimum and helps add some atmosphere and the underlying fact that Dagoba are enjoying themselves quite a bit. The only tune here that gives me some measure of pause is "The Loss," which seems like the only true throwback, sort of bridging the alternative chorus of "Another Day" with some more mid-period riffage. Still, this does remind us that it is Dagoba we are hearing on this album, which is honestly rather easy to forget throughout. Either way, I found it to be a surprisingly refreshing nostalgic kick in an album that shows the band treading more stable, modern ground. Tales of the Black Dawn surprised me, and will likely surprise you whether you are familiar with Dagoba's earlier work, or are aware of their personal style through hearsay. For groovy death metal, this works pretty well and emphasizes the new lineup in a manner that doesn't feel cluttered or clumsy. It is skewed significantly toward death metal, yet keeps just enough groove to spice proceedings up. I like it!