Dawn of Ashes - Daemonolatry Gnosis

Dawn of Ashes previous album Theophany quickly put the band on the map for myself as they finally found a sound that completely worked; they ditched their dark electro roots and embraced their black metal hearts to spin out their career defining album. The new industrial tinged black metal of Dawn of Ashes brought in a new age of severe wickedness and Satanic story telling, themes, and lyrics. With their new direction and a further understanding of both themselves and what they wanted to be, Dawn of Ashes continues on that same path and has released a new beast upon the world titled Daemonolatry Gnosis. 

The new album kicks off in a manner similar to Theophany as a cinematic yet ritualistic introduction track titled 'The Initiation' slowly opens the gates to Daemonolatry Gnosis. Once the doors opened I was immediately flooded with breakneck drumming, constant riffing, and the growls from Bathory's with the song 'Gods of the Antinomian Path'. Throughout the album, however, I found a distinct lack of any real industrial influences; moreso I found a huge influence of cinematic/classical sounds that belonged in Fantasia. However, Dawn of Ashes made sure to fuse both black metal and these epic cinematic sounds to create a great unholy clash. 'Smash Thy Enemies', 'Guardians', 'Augoeides', 'Sermon from the Horned God', and 'Rulership of the Inner World' all connected with similar styles of black metal combined with classical and cinematic sounds.


Daemonolatry Gnosis also brings back two tracks from the short lived project Urilia which featured members of Demona Mortiss and As Summer Dies. The tracks 'Core of the Black Sun' and 'I Am Nephilim' make a reappearance slightly touched upon and remastered. That being said both tracks were absolutely amazing to begin with so I can easily replay these two over and over and over again without ever feeling bad about it. 

The last two songs on the album were a nice little treat to get through. 'Magick for the New Aeon' featured guest vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft, keyboardist and one of the vocalists for Cradle of Filth. This song also featured whispered vocals alongside Bathory's screams. Schoolcraft does steal the show from underneath his feet though as her powerful and brimming voice pairs so well together next to the backdrop of her music. Even when she's just humming, the chimes behind her voice bring me to a realm of Fantasy where dragons and knights fight one another in a quest to defeat all evil. Well done from both Dawn of Ashes and Schoolcraft for this amazing collaboration. 

Dawn of Ashes also isn't afraid to cover bands which are more than likely huge influences on their own writings and musings. That's why the final song on the album is a cover of Mayhem's 'Freezing Moon'. While many will say that Dawn of Ashes will never be able to come close to the majesty of 'Freezing Moon' with their cover, I think they did a well enough job and this is an impressive tribute to a more than impressive band. Well done.

Dawn of Ashes has presented another good album in their discography with Daemonolatry Gnosis. Fusing black metal with more cinematic elements created an album that sounds like it's preparing for some final Holy War, and thanks to previous tracks that were already stellar from the Urilia-era, and an awesome collaboration with Lindsay Schoolcraft, Daemonolatry Gnosis turned out to be exceptional. Another two thumbs up for Dawn of Ashes! 
Apr 16 2017