For all intents and purposes LA’s extreme metal outfit Dawn of Ashes was gone, dead and buried in 2013 with singer Kristof Bathory moving on to new territory with the unfortunately short lived but brilliant Urilia. Dawn of Ashes has been resurrected and brought back from the grave with new inspiration and creative necromancy, like a deceased phoenix rejuvenated with Dr. West’s special glowing juice.
Bathory’s last Dawn of Ashes related screams came from 2013’s Anathema with final live stage rattling’s in LA and New York. Unholy birthed in 2000 as a blended concoction incorporating horror themed lyrics, audio samples and dark electronic omens was dubbed aggrotech among other labels. Their blasphemy lasted seven records before legal issues caused the crypt to close.
Being temporarily laid to rest never stops a good dedicated ghoul from rising back to the occasion. 2016’s offering described by Bathory as Dawn of Ashes on steroids, Theophany is a genre altering experience expanding into the spellbinding macabre worlds of Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, and Cradle of Filth, dark-laced by ritualistic torch-held old school black metal. With songs that tell of left hand path misanthropy with a multitude of bastardized elements from sundown incantations and dark room rituals.
D.O.A. brings back the Renfield inspired musical plate with horror elements, occult knowledge, religious wrong doings and anything else you wouldn’t want to see when the lights come on. The new dawn brings forth new talent as D.O.A. looks to the future.
New song “Tribe of Chemosh” was released streaming on Metal Injection. Theophany will be released in May on Metropolis Records.
D.O.A. 2016 starts with the mystique and ambience of the “Rise of the Ancient East, “as choirs and battle drawn drums play the soldiers to battle. Ancient chants breathe new life into the music and band.
“Tribe of Chemosh,” god of the Moabites, opens with waves of guitars, drums and synth crashing together, powering the triumph of Bathory’s return. Scathing vocals crawl like a black serpent slithering across the Holy Scriptures.
“Equilibrium” gives off a thermal techno racket of blitzkrieg drums and industrial plunder back to the thrash horroresque synth. “Still Born Effect” plays in the infernal dance club, where the countess reaps immortal, eternal red, hitting classical keys with an industrial vibe.
“Malleus Maleficarum” has the old flame thrower Rob Zombie feel underlined with a cool postmortem haunting keyboard kiss. The heavy pendulum swings as Bathory’s vocals come late and clean as they’ve been so far. “Bleeding Perfection,” a transformed Urilia tune done D.O.A. style that asks will you end it all to begin again? “Enter the Vortex,” is a march of hellish decadence as the old school hellfire club comes in with acoustics.
There’s unholy, unwelcomed visitors passing through the gates of “Valhalla.” The Viking heavens have been breached.
They saved one of the best tracks for “Last.” It’s a mad scientist’s rave, playing the DJ as thrash is hyphenated with old school black metal and prog. Venom and Immortal clang drinking horns together in skull-stomping, mirror-smashing alliance, bleeding shards of black. There’s a masquerade quality to the dark catchy dementia as lyrics drip like an S&M leather whipped lacquered invitation of self-destruction and destructive submission.
