OCTOBER TIDE — Grey Dawn (review)

OCTOBER TIDE — Grey Dawn album cover Album · 1999 · Death-Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Grey Dawn" is the second full-length studio album by Swedish doom/death metal act October Tide. The album was released through Avantgarde Music in November 1999. It´s the successor to "Rain Without End" from 1997 and there´s been one lineup change as lead vocalist Mårten Hansen has been added to the ranks, making October Tide a trio on "Grey Dawn". Band founders Fredrik Norrman (guitars, bass) and Jonas Renkse (drums, guitars) are still present. The latter has completely abandoned performing vocals (which he performed on the debut album), so Hansen is the sole vocalist on "Grey Dawn".

"Rain Without End (1997)" sounded pretty similar to early Katatonia (Renkse´s and Norrman´s other contemporary band), featuring a melodic and melancholic doom/death metal style with growling vocals. That music style is more or less continued on "Grey Dawn", but Hansen has a slightly more blackened type growl than Renkse´s ditto on the predecessor. The quality of the material is decent, but "Grey Dawn" is not the most memorable album in the genre, and a few more catchy moments would have made this a stronger release.

The musicianship is strong, although Renkse´s simplistic and one-dimensional approach to drumming is hard to appreciate. It´s the dark and melancholic atmosphere and the heavy riffs and guitar lead themes which are the assets of the album. The sound production is professional and detailed, and upon conclusion "Grey Dawn" is a quality doom/death metal release by October Tide. To my ears the debut album was just a little more interesting and a little more memorable too, but this one is entertaining enough while it plays. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.
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