Album Review: Cerulean Dawn - The Octant Moons
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Atmospheric black metal wrapped in a cosmic theme. That’s the substance of ‘The Octane Moons’ the debut EP from Cerulean Dawn, a two-piece project from New England, USA. Comprising Hyrieth on guitars, bass and Null on drums, guitars, vocals, and synths, this is a self-released piece of work which should appeal to fans of Vanum, Wolves in the Throne Room and Mare Cognitum.
The band has explained the EP as follows: "Cerulean Dawn in and of itself is a voyage throughout the stars. A vessel merely to convey the sense of mysticism and wonder you get when you gaze upon them on a bleak wintry night”.
A blend of mind splitting riffing, powerful blast beats and explosive tempos which change to melancholic passages whilst maintaining the high energy and intense feel, opening track ‘Dawning of the Third Moon’ flows organically. The production is at times raw, but that tends to enhance the journey that Cerulean Dawn wish you to undertake. Both tracks are lengthy opuses, with the combined running time of over 25 minutes. Utilising 12 string guitars and analogue synthesizers, ‘Watcher at the End of Time’ is built in similar vein to the first song, although there are some subtle differences. The banks of tremolo riffing shimmer, fragile yet strong, and once more the band switch between frantic, explosive passages and gentle pauses. It’s certainly a labour of love for the two band members.
Drawing on the old school sounds as much if not more than the current flavours, Cerulean Dawn have produced a decent debut EP. Drawing on their fascinations of the universe, sky and exploration, it’s raw, at times crude and a little overlong. With a saturated market, whether this EP will be able to gain any traction is however, a moot point.
‘The Octant Moons’ will be released on CD by Viridian Flame Records, on the 11th of December
