Dawn Of Relic

Inspired by the horrific imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, Dawn of Relic’s second full-length is a saga in three parts. Chapter I, "Throes Matrix,” comprises seven scenes in melodic black metal, more often catchy than frightening. The shorter "Themes of Stifled Screams” (Chapter II) follows, introducing, for one song, female vocals that drain more intensity than they make up for in depth. The distraction is thankfully brief, and the next venture into clean vocals a couple of tracks later seems a little less out of place for it. The third chapter offers three previously unreleased demo tracks. They’re definitely Lovecraftian Dark’s weakest point, straying away from the record’s initial focus, but as a bonus and a novelty they fare reasonably well. Dawn of Relic might have been better advised to stick with the more solid, blacker tracks and release a shorter album, but the clean vocal oddities are definitely interesting.