Band: Dawn Of Demise
Hometown: Silkeborg, Denmark ๐ฉ๐ฐ
Formed: 2003
Genre: Death Metal / Slam / Groove-Heavy Death Metal
Years Active: 2003โPresent
Sometimes you donโt need seventeen subgenres, a calculator to understand the riffs and a drummer apparently attempting to break the laws of physics.
Sometimes you just need massive bloody death metal riffs. ๐๐ค
Thatโs been the philosophy behind Denmarkโs Dawn Of Demise since the band emerged from Silkeborg in 2003.
The mission was wonderfully straightforward from day one: make death metal heavy and catchy.
No messing about.
More than two decades later, that basic philosophy remains firmly intact.
While plenty of modern death metal has ventured towards blistering technicality, lightning-fast guitar work, sweeps, tapping, gravity blasts and increasingly complicated musicianship, Dawn Of Demise have continued marching down their own considerably heavier road.
Their weapons of choice?
Groove. Heaviness. Catchy riffs. And enough low-end brutality to rearrange the furniture.
๐ฉ๐ฐ New York Death Metalโฆ From Denmark
Although Dawn Of Demise hail from Denmark, thereโs a very noticeable American flavour running through their music.
More specifically, the band have long drawn inspiration from the muscular brutality of US and New York-style death metal, combining that approach with elements of slam to create something designed to hit hard without sacrificing memorable songwriting.
Former Suffocation and Pyrexia live vocalist Kevin Muller once summed up the bandโs sound brilliantly:
โNew York death metalโฆ from Denmark.โ
And thatโs not a bad description at all.
Dawn Of Demise arenโt interested in technicality purely for technicalityโs sake.
The riff is king.
The groove matters.
And when something can be made heavier, thereโs a decent chance theyโre going to make it heavier.
๐ฅ More Than Two Decades Of Danish Death Metal
Dawn Of Demise formed in Silkeborg, Denmark, in 2003, with the goal of producing death metal that was both crushing and instantly memorable.
Rather than chasing whatever happens to be fashionable within extreme metal at any particular moment, theyโve spent their career refining that original formula.
Across five full-length albums, the band have developed a catalogue built around US-influenced death metal, enormous grooves and touches of slam.
Itโs music made for headbanging rather than standing at the back of the venue analysing time signatures.
And frankly, sometimes thatโs exactly what the doctor ordered.
Although we probably wouldnโt recommend asking your actual doctor to prescribe a Dawn Of Demise pit. ๐๐
๐ธ The Return Of Jakob Haagen Nyholm
One of the biggest developments in the bandโs more recent history has been the return of original guitarist Jakob Haagen Nyholm.
Nyholm was there during Dawn Of Demiseโs earliest days, contributing to the bandโs demo material and first album before eventually leaving the group.
His return more than two decades into the bandโs story has provided a serious creative spark.
According to bassist Bjรธrn Jensen, bringing Nyholm back into the fold revitalised the bandโs enthusiasm for writing heavy music.
And that renewed energy couldnโt have arrived at a better time.
Because Dawn Of Demise were preparing to awaken the beast once again.
๐ Feed My Absurdity
After a gap of almost seven years without a new release, Dawn Of Demise returned to action with their sixth full-length album, Feed My Absurdity.
The record represents considerably more than another entry in their discography.
Itโs the sound of a band rediscovering its hunger.
With Jakob Nyholm back in the ranks and every member contributing to the songwriting process, Feed My Absurdity became a genuine collective effort.
The result is ten tracks built around everything Dawn Of Demise have spent their career championing:
Heavy riffs.
Groove.
Catchiness.
Slam-infused brutality.
And absolutely no shortage of death metal filth. ๐ค
Long-term fans shouldnโt expect the band to suddenly emerge playing progressive jazz with a twelve-minute flute solo.
The Dawn Of Demise DNA remains very much intact.
But there are a few surprises lurking amongst the carnage.
๐๏ธ Keeping Things Real
Production duties for Feed My Absurdity were handled by renowned Danish producer Tue Madsen, whose extensive metal rรฉsumรฉ includes work associated with bands including Meshuggah and The Haunted.
Rather than pursuing an ultra-polished modern-metal sound, Dawn Of Demise deliberately pushed the album towards something more organic, energetic and natural.
Itโs a move away from overly sanitised production and towards the feeling of an actual band battering away together.
For music this physical, that approach makes plenty of sense.
Dawn Of Demise should sound like five blokes are attempting to knock a wall down with guitars.
Because, spiritually at least, thatโs pretty much whatโs happening.
โ๏ธ Heavy Doesnโt Have To Mean Complicated
One of the most interesting things about Dawn Of Demise is their refusal to confuse complexity with quality.
Modern extreme metal can be spectacularly technical.
And thereโs absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But Dawn Of Demise operate from a different philosophy.
A riff doesnโt need a degree in advanced mathematics to cave your skull in.
Their music places songwriting and memorability alongside brutality, meaning those huge guitar parts arenโt merely heavy โ theyโre designed to stick around in your head afterwards.
Itโs death metal with hooks.
Admittedly, theyโre hooks covered in blood and attached to a massive wrecking ball, but hooks nonetheless. ๐
๐ค What Do Dawn Of Demise Sound Like?
At the heart of Dawn Of Demise is an old-school appreciation for American death metal, particularly the groove-driven brutality associated with the New York scene.
Add elements of slam, enormous guitar tones and a deliberate emphasis on memorable riffs, and youโve got a pretty good idea of where these Danes are coming from.
Expect:
๐ฅ Crushing death metal riffs
๐ Deep, brutal vocals
โ๏ธ Slam-influenced heaviness
๐ค Huge headbanging grooves
๐ฅ Punishing drums
๐ธ Riffs that actually stick in your head
Rather than constantly attempting to outrun everyone else, Dawn Of Demise understand one of heavy musicโs most important lessons:
Sometimes slower hits harder.
๐ธ Dawn Of Demise โ Band Line-Up
Scott Jensen โ Vocals
Jakob Haagen Nyholm โ Guitar
Martin K. Sรธrensen โ Guitar
Bastian Thusgaard โ Drums
Bjรธrn Jensen โ Bass
The return of Nyholm connects the bandโs current incarnation directly to its earliest days, while the collaborative approach behind Feed My Absurdity suggests Dawn Of Demise are operating once again as a seriously hungry unit.
๐ฟ Six Albums Deep And Still Crushing
With five full-length records already behind them and Feed My Absurdity representing album number six, Dawn Of Demise have quietly built a substantial legacy within European death metal.
More importantly, theyโve managed to do it without abandoning the philosophy that started everything back in 2003.
Heavy.
Groovy.
Catchy.
Brutal.
Simple on paper.
Considerably less simple when itโs smashing you directly between the ears.
๐ฉ๐ฐ Danish Death Metal Done The Dawn Of Demise Way
More than twenty years after forming in Silkeborg, Dawn Of Demise donโt appear particularly interested in reinventing themselves simply because the metal landscape around them keeps changing.
Thatโs arguably one of their greatest strengths.
Trends come and go.
Production fashions change.
Extreme-metal musicians somehow discover increasingly ridiculous ways of playing their instruments.
Meanwhile, Dawn Of Demise keep doing what Dawn Of Demise do.
Write bloody enormous death metal riffs.
With an original member back in the ranks, a revitalised creative spirit and Feed My Absurdity opening another chapter in their story, these Danish wrecking machines arenโt finished yet.
Not by a long shot.
๐ฅ The Riff Report
Dawn Of Demise are proof that death metal doesnโt need to become a technical arms race to remain devastating.
For more than two decades, theyโve concentrated on the fundamentals โ brutality, groove, songwriting and riffs capable of turning a perfectly sensible crowd into a swirling pit of questionable decisions.
They came together in 2003 wanting to make heavy and catchy death metal.
More than twenty years later?
Mission still very much in progress. ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ค
