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Had to wait on this for-ever because of some screwup at Century Media mailorder. But finally I have in my hands both albums by the little-known Dawn Of Relic. This was released in 1999, but features material mostly written by drummer Jukka Juntunen between 1993 and 1998.

Some people have compared this album to Children Of Bodom, but I don't really agree with that. There is some similarity in the vocal department, but otherwise this band more strongly recalls a kind of Black Metal Eternal Tears Of Sorrow. Their melodies have that characteristic Finnish sound, with a feel that alternates between aggression and melancholy. This is very melodic, but not in a typical Gothenburg way. Dawn Of Relic almost perfectly straddle the line between Black and Melodic Death Metal. The production is very death-metal, while the compositions and the keyboard sounds are pure BM. Vocalist Mika Tonning has a very Lindberg-style scream, and I can't say it does much for the music, but it doesn't get in the way.

The compositions and general songwriting is really excellent on this disc. After the short lead-in track the band launches right into the epic "When Aldebaran Is Visible" which pretty much sums up the whole band in one song: galloping yet intensely melodic riffing, tasty leadwork, and dynamic shifts between aggressive and acoustic passages. "Last Dance Of Sarnath" is next with more cool riffs and a nice catchy chorus. But the real centerpiece is the epic trilogy that makes up tracks four and five "Kadath Opened". This is a total of over 18 minutes of epic, melodic, furious metal. Really excellent stuff.

The CD case has some very cool art, and the overall design is very good. From the song titles it should be obvious that these guys are very into Lovecraft (in fact their second CD is titled "Lovecraftian Dark") which is fine by me. The lyrics aren't bad either.

If I had to gripe about this album, it would be to say that the segues from heavy to moody are not always carried off, and sometimes the material sounds a little disjointed. But overall this is excellent stuff, and I would recommend this album to anyone interested in some very good melodic Black Metal with some touches of melodic Death.

This is not as focused or as aggressive as their follow-up, but is still an excellent disc. Recommended.