UMUR
"Promotional Demo 1993" is the 3rd demo release by Swedish death/black metal act Dawn. The demo was independently released in 1993. The three tracks from the demo are also featured on "The Eternal Forest - Demo Years 91-93" compilation album. Dawn were formed in 1990 and originally played death metal, but later shifted towards a more melodic oriented black metal style.
The music on "Promotional Demo 1993" is still old school Swedish death metal, but something has changed since the release of the "Apparition" demo in December 1992. A blackened touch has crept into the music, and while it´s only an element of the instrumental part of the music, the vocals by Henke Forss are now a blackened aggressive snarl, instead of the deep and largely unintelligible growling vocals featured on the first two demos. The difference is best heard on "In the Depths of My Soul" which is a track that was originally featured on "Apparition" but is included here in a re-recorded version.
The sound production is clear, and semi-professsional, and is actually pretty similar to the sound production on "Apparition". While the production is detailed enough, it´s not the most charming or suiting production for music like this. Especially the drums feature a cold clicky sound, which could have prospered from a more organic tone. When that is said the general quality of the material and the memorability of the tracks are better here than on "Apparition", the new vocal approach is also much more interesting and effectful than the monotone growling vocals on the early demos. Therefore "Promotional Demo 1993" is a good representation of the new more blackened death metal direction Dawn were heading in. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.