Ages
In a world where genre word salad is becoming a problem, a band claiming to be prog-folk-blackened-post metal should deserve an eye roll, but here, it would be thoroughly undeserved. Somehow, Dawnwalker make all that sound effortless.
In a concept album (here we go with the prog) that clocks in at just under an hour, Dawnwalker do ask a lot of your concentration. Four of the five songs here are over 10 minutes but it’s well worth your time to get to know the twist and turns of each song as the story plays out.
The first proper song on the album, The Wheel, sets out what the band have in store for the listener. We start with some of the prettiest post metal the band have made, but by the time we’re halfway into the track, Dawnwalker unleash their first true black metal passage, playing much heavier than they ever have before. In fact, the whole blackened sound is much stronger than on previous Dawnwalker albums, which is a very welcome progression. But this is a long song and it marches onwards, changing and never dwelling on one style for too long.
Towards the end of the song there’s a passage where they sing “The wind will howl, the bough will break, I heard the screaming of the earth’s tectonic plates” as they move back into the heavier section for the song closer. It’s one of the best bits of music I’ve heard in years.
The second proper song, Ancient Sands, is the heaviest track on the album. It’s ferocious for its first 6 minutes but even when the clean singing and female backing vocal comes in, the chugging riff keeps things bruising. Its nearly 13 minutes will keep the smile on the face of even the most jaded metal fan.
However, the album is not just about the face melting, there’s even a little flute action cropping up to add some spooky atmosphere in places.
In fact Ages almost totally avoids the repetitive post metal chugging that has gotten so boring these days. It only crops up once in Colony / A Gathering, and taking into account the dissonant drumming and screams down in the mix, I think that section is to symbolise the destruction of the civilization that the album is about, so we’ll give the band a conceptual pass.
Overall, this album is a step up for a band who were already working on a different level, hopefully Ages will get Dawnwalker the attention they deserve.
The ways of exile 