Descent

When I first stumbled onto their myspace, I wasn't impressed by the song available on the page (The Pit and The Pendulum), nor I was convinced about a spanish band playing guitar-driven melodeath metal. Since it was free to download, I got it and I gave it a try. Bleeding away blew me away, and I thought I had to listen to this album very carefully.

Hailing from Madrid and led by guitarist and main composer J.L. Trebol, DOT released its first album in april 2007, titled Descent: nine tracks for a running time approaching the hour. The opener, after a one minute intro, starts kicking the fast paced melodic assault, in which axemen Trebol & Astur gives a brilliant example of their technique. Behind the microphone J.J. Alonso displays a remarkable versatility, mixing both black metal and death metal typical growls, adding to the music an epic and evil feeling.

The rhythmic section, in the very capable hands of bassist J.Alvarez and drummer J Sierra, is absolutely stunning, while the band is currently without keyboardist. The second song, The Pit and the Pendulum, does feature a keys-dominated chorus, but it's a spare case, since their music is, as previously said, guitar driven.

"Lost Verses", then "Poisoned Minds, Shattered Hearts" keep the level up, introducing Echoes of Eternal Life, blessed with outstanding female vocals and this endless melodic soloing which is undoubtly Dawn of Tears trademark.

Invisible Words of Madmen slows the pace down a little bit, enriched with acoustic passages and preparing the listener for the approaching storm. Bleeding Away is absolutely melodic death metal perfection: guitars duo once again impressive, plus tremendous bass lines to build up the atmosphere, and when voice and drums kick in it's total assault...a change of pace and there you are, at 1'44 listening to the most impressive solo of the album. What a song!

Uncertain Life is another amazing track, but what about a 11 minutes beauty to conclude this absolute masterpiece? Blood on Verona is atypical in its length, at least for the genre, and is proof Dawn of Tears don't rely solely on speed or solos, they have a knack for creating unbelievable atmospheres.

The outro, represented by the final 3 minutes of Blood on Verona, closes the first chapter of this new player on the melodeath scene: it's free to download and yes, the production is awesome, and if you happen to see the band live, I warn you, it's a "fierce animal" on the stage.

It's not the most original piece of work in the metal industry, it won't have the impact of Amorphis' Tales from the Thousand Lakes or Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery, and that's why it's not a 100%, but thanks to its many influences it doesnt really remind you of any other particular band.

Dawn of Tears, write it down...