BEFORE THE DAWN
The Ghost
Locomotive Records 2006
www.beforethedawn.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
Before the Dawn, a solo project from an awesome musician Tuomas, releases their latest album The Ghost.

Genre
Melodic death metal

The Good
The album starts with some heavyweight ‘Gothenburg’ sounding guitar riffs that display the power of “Disappear”. Creating this great style of rhythm, this song proves easily to be one of the best on the album. As the song flows, the great vocal work will appeal very clearly, not so much the lyrics, but the volume of the vocals. They are a unique blend of death/black metal. “Fade Away” begins with a beautiful musical atmosphere that captures the ‘feel’ of the song itself.

Also at the start, your ear will catch the nicely mixed keyboards appearing in the background. Later on in the song, things begin to relax just a tad bit with some nifty melodic singing that blends really well with the rest of the song. “Scar” produces that same ‘Gothenburg’ type sound as the first track. I wouldn’t say that it is more enhanced in this song, but it’s defiantly very noticeable. “Enemy” brings forth strong guitar riffs backed by an excellent drum flow. Though things stay pretty secure in the song, the superb melodic chorus is one that will put a spell over you.

The Bad
Nothing notable

The Verdict
I won’t say all, but most bands coming from the foreign countries try to acquire this now famous ‘Gothenburg sound’. Some bands succeed, some fail. Before the Dawn have, without a doubt, succeeded in this. This is a flawless album, built up dedication and heart. This album is a grand achievement for Before the Dawn. If you like good metal, I STRONGLY suggest this album.

Did you Know?
Tuomas recorded everything on this album except for the clean vocals, which was done by a friend, and 2 solos which were performed by another friend. Both of these friends (Lars and Juho) are part of the live stage performance lineup.

Rating: out of 5

--Dereck Carey