Album Review: Dawnwalker - Ages
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Be warned – Dawnwalker’s new album, Ages, is no party record! Instead, it is a behemoth of musical styles, interwoven to create one of the most compelling and challenging listening experiences heard this year.
Since the formation of Dawnwalker in 2012 the band has seen a constant turn-over of musicians passing through its ranks, with only lead songwriter, Mark Norgate being ever-present. Following up the 2018 release, Human Ruins, Ages is a cautionary tale of a dying world and unheeded warning signs.
To expand this heavy subject matter, Dawnwalker have built their new record around four epic tracks, interspersed with short interludes to punctuate the flow. Blending a number of different styles and approaches, Ages uses a progressive structure into which it weaves 70s prog rock, polyrhythmic guitar and symphonic black metal.
It is the continual return to epic Black Metal, in the vein of Winterfylleth, that is the anchoring style of Ages. Amid acoustic passages a sudden blast beat will surface as the vocals will take on a demonic life of their own. The Wheel plays with the idea of the cyclical nature of the world by moving through many phases and styles, coming back to an idea from earlier in the track and taking that exploration in a different direction from before.
Central track, Ancient Sands, employs technical rhythms and choral vocals to create a sense of unease. The longest song on the record ebbs and flows through thirteen minutes of challenging music that both engages and engrosses and, simultaneously, alienates and eschews.
The punctuation comes in the form of the interludes, Hymn, an ambient moment amid the tempest, and Numi, with its tribal drumming and eerie strings.
Ages ends with a triptych of tracks, all of which feel linked. Burning World continues the maelstrom of styles and ideas, mixing the epic Black Metal with melancholic clean vocals and a huge metal riff that would be the envy of any Son of Sabbath band.
The Colony: Gathering picks up directly from Burning World and, along with the shorter The Cataclysm, are the most coherent and traditionally structured sections of the record. Dominant throughout is the folk-feel of Ages, replete with gentle pipes and the return of the female vocals, Colony: The Gathering certainly feels more organic and less jarring as it switches between styles. As the repetitive riff becomes a hook, the choppy guitars take on something of a Tool-like sound.
With Ages, Dawnwalker have recorded a complex and compelling record which will take some considerable time to unpack. While there are some great individual tracks on the album, Ages is a majestic collection that is best heard from start to finish. Preferably in the dark and through the clearest set of speakers or headphones you can find.
