Album Review: Scenario II – A New Dawn (Hysteria Music)

Originating from Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Scenario II brings Melodic Dark Death/Thrash Metal which differentiates itself with spherical melodies fashioned with the frequent use of Female Vocals, twin guitars, quick riffs and fast drums and grunts.

A New Dawn will be released on the 17th February 2017 via Hysteria Music & can be pre-ordered here.

A haunting intro leads into the catchy beat of A New Dawn, the mix of metal & symphonic sounds resulting in a song that is as epic as it is heavy. It’s a vastly layered opening with some seriously good guitar work & killer drumming.

Vocally the differing styles of male guttural (clearer then most though) & high female singing works well. It’s not exactly new but when it’s done so well, does that really matter?

It’s clear that Scenario II wanted to create a bit of an opus here & you can certainly argue that they’ve done that with ease. Each song offers something a bit different but never drifts too far away from the overall sound of the album.

Some songs like Supremacy & Rapture share more in common with many of the big symphonic metal bands while others like Awake & Endgame really turn the heavy up! The drumming adds some serious punch to the beats. There are some fantastically meaty riffs too throughout this album, some of which will see your head banging along involuntarily!

By time it reaches the latter half of the album the symphonic elements are really sitting comfortably alongside the harder metal moments & it sounds excellent. Hysteria is the standout song on the album showing off soaring female vocals that hang about in the background letting the hooks & beats do all the work. It’s an exceptional song & one that will have the repeat button being hit several times.

While the latter half of the album is stronger, there is more then enough throughout its 11 track run to please fans of both symphonic metal & fans of a harder, heavier sound. This is an album that swaps the focus around & it works so well. Clean female singing & the symphonic sounds back up the crushing heavy metal rather then the other way around. It makes it sound fresh & is far more exciting to hear.

A New Dawn is an exceptional album.

Overall Track Listing:

1. The Darkest Hour
2. A New Dawn
3. Supremacy
4. Awake
5. Rapture
6. The Promised Wasteland
7. Hysteria
8. Endgame
9. Disclosure
10. Nocturnal
11. Stand Ablaze (In Flames Cover)

We’d like to thank Scenario II & Hysteria Music for providing us with a copy of the album for this review. You can find out more about the band on their official website. You can also check them out over on their Facebook page & on Instagram!