German thrashers Deimos’ Dawn can best be summed up in one word: relentless.
That’s ‘relentless’ in a good way, obviously; The band’s sharp mix of Slayer and Sodom with dashes of Motörhead works well over the course of the band’s new full-length, Anthem of the Lost, with the band delivering a nicely paced, well-considered set of bangers that will set a smile across the listener’s face thanks to the welcoming familiarity of the band’s sound.
However, that familiarity never breeds contempt; After vocalist Marc Grewe unleashes an Araya-styled scream on opening statement of intent Feeding the Decline, the band deal very much more in ‘feel’ rather than ‘plagiarism’, achieving a sound that synthesises their obvious influences without actually parading around with the relevant names plastered all over the metaphorical band denim cut-off. Guitarist Andy Doé likes to deploy a bit of Andreas Kisserish dissonance now and then, for instance, but he does so with style and enough restraint to make it a highlight rather than something to point and laugh at.
Consequently tracks like Too Much Pain is Not Enough, Deathstar Spangled Banner and especially When In Doubt: Kill! become engaging slices of must-hear modern day thrash metal, suffused with urgency and gutter-level survival instinct for sure but also rather classy in outlook and execution. Grewe, best known perhaps for his tenure in German death unit Morgoth, proves himself to be a self-assured and highly proficient singer in the thrash sphere, and Doé, drummer Mathias Schmidt and bassist Matze Langer are all similarly slick, operating at high levels of proficiency throughout.
Deimos’ Dawn don’t break any new ground on Anthem of the Lost, but at the same time I don’t really think that was the plan. They do, however, bring a stylish level of high-impact dynamics to the table, making this album eminently listenable and well worth a punt if you enjoy sophisticated thrash metal.
Anthem of the Lost releases on April 14th.
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