Date Released: October 03rd 2022. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
The Dawning: Tracklisting
It's A Good Time To Die
Awake The Elders
Demons Of Demolition
The Fog
The Herald
Looming Invitation
Strange Riders
On The Drift
Members
Mike Yoshida
Simeon Papacostas
Jed Jacbos
Brant Maze
Review
The Dawning is the debut album from Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metallers Unto The Earth who show they're not afraid to weave different sounds such as Shoegaze, Psych Rock, Desert Rock, Prog Rock and Fuzz Rock into their blistering style of music. Taking cues from bands such as Mastodon, TOOL, Truckfighters and KYUSS into their melodic and FUZZED OUT grooves with an eerie style of Occult Rock within the lyrics for certain songs on the album.
Opening song It's A Good To Die is a slightly demonic and darker style of Stoner Metal/Desert Rock with echoes of Fuzzed Up Doom Rock. The song is perhaps influenced or inspired by Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult whilst still retaining that modern day WEEDIAN underground groove. The music is LOUD and wonderfully Progressive that sees Unto The Earth play a wide array of extended jams and gloomy Psychedelic atmospherics that captures a band on inspired creative form.
Second song Awake The Elders opens with a short Doomgaze groove before moving into Doom Metal territory with a sludgy undercurrent of heavy pounding sounds. If you ever wondered TOOL would sound like as a Prog Stoner Metal band then this song is the perfect answer to that question. Even the vocals feel inspired by Maynard James Keenan but still allowing Unto The Earth to do their own style of music. The music is powerful and moves into many different directions throughout the nine minute plus run time. The lyrics have a slight "Concept Record" edge to them but it's the music that holds your attention. Perhaps the standout track on the album.
The instrumental work is wonderfully dark and highly imaginative with each passing song. You feel you have every figured out with Unto The Earth but the band throw a few curve-balls along the way with the fantastic use of Psychedelic and Ambient Noises being added throughout the album.
Unto The Earth impress even further on tracks such as Demons Of Demoiltion, The Herald, Looming Invitation and Strange Riders with the album becoming ever more Occult based but still retaining that FUZZED OUT and WEEDIAN goodness even when the dark atmospherics of the HEAVY GUITARS and PSYCHEDELIC NOISES take a more controlling presence on the later stages of the album.
The Dawning allows Unto The Earth the perfect opportunity to show the Stoner Metal Underground scene what they're truly capable of. Heavy Psychedelic Sounds that has a first rate Progressive Flow when the extended guitar solos, first class vocals and soaring drum beats all work together as one harmonious and cohesive unit.
Unto The Earth maybe influenced by many different bands of the Hard Rock/Metal scene but The Dawning is their show and they're in complete control of this brilliantly insane album. WIth first rate production values helping the band deliver a punishing audio experience, this allows The Dawning to be one of the best debut albums to be released this year.
This is a wonderfully diverse album that the underground scene needs to know about now.
Words by Steve Howe
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