Album Review: Dawn of Winter – Pray for Doom (I Hate Records)

As winter descends and the lands darken it’s only fitting that Germany’s tried and tested stalwarts of traditional doom stir from their lengthy slumber to set things straight. Every ten years Dawn of Winter return with a new full-length and on December 7th 2018 Pray for Doom will be unleashed via I Hate Records.

Purveyors of all things ‘old-school’ doom. Dawn of Winter have no interest in your fancy new versions of the heavy sub-genre. They’re steeped in a sound that can be simply called ‘classic’. Booming percussion, dirty bass hooks and vocals that alternate between potential horror and soaring cleaniness.

Eight tracks of doom that will massively appeal to those who are crying out for the sound that is ripped straight out of a history book. A Dream With a Dream and The Thirteenth of November are darkness covered tracks with little compromising on delivering hypnotic noise.

Then Woodstock Child is a slightly lighter affair. A track that is immediately appealing thanks to its rhythmic guitars. Which is followed by the monotone beat of The Sweet Taste of Ruin and the title track. The former nails the abject feeling that would come from witnessing the end while the latter lays out a slow walkway into Hell.

By contrast The Orchestra Bizarre is almost catchy…to a point. Unfortunately by this stage things are beginning to sound a little samey and the impact felt earlier in the album isn’t felt by the latter stages. Paralysed By Sleep drones on and would be utterly forgettable if it wasn’t for the exceptional vocals while the 10-minute finale of Father Winter is just too long and it’s far too easy to drift away.

While it doesn’t end anywhere as strongly as it begun for the majority of its run-time, Pray for Doom well and truly delivers a classic doom sound that will please many.

Dawn of Winter – Pray for Doom Full Track Listing:

1. A Dream Within a Dream
2. The Thirteenth of November
3. Woodstock Child
4. The Sweet Taste Of Ruin
5. Pray for Doom
6. The Orchestra Bizarre
7. Paralysed By Sleep
8. Father Winter

You can order the album via I Hate Records here and find out more by checking out Dawn of Winter’s Facebook Page.