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Spring boarding off the awesome Scales Of Judgement, released back in 2006, the boys of Koblenz Germany offer us their third studio output. As good as Scales Of Judgement was, I have to say At The Gates Of Dawn ambitiously orchestrates this band's steady progression toward becoming a top tier band in terms of songwriting and playing skills which transcends to the overall quality of the material.

Of the many highlights let's begin with the vocal pipes of Olaf Reimann who possesses the type of voice that combines the perfect blend of raspiness and melody which suits the somewhat darker atmosphere that Ra's Dawn incorporates in their brand of Power Metal. Speaking of improved skill sets, the remainder of the band have upped the ante as well with skillfully executed, dark and menacing guitar parts, along with perfectly mixed keyboards which accents the music rather than dominate it, all of which is backed by a muscular rhythm section.

Another album strength is the variety that is incorporated in all the songs. The listener is treated to a melting pot of styles, from straightforward Power Metal featuring heavy guitar riffs and double bass kicks on songs like "Scorched War Earth", "Burning Black" and the awesome "In Dark Ages". "Osiris," which is best described as falling squarely in the confines of Epic Metal, plodding along for the first two and a half minutes at a slow to mid pace tempo sporting an Egyptian theme before picking up the pace for the next three plus minutes before settling back in the last minute. "Violation" offers up yet another change of pace traversing into Thrash territory.

However, the album's true highlight lies in the 22 minute epic journey entitled "The Dawn of Ra", a track that was re-recorded from the band's first demo Solar Force. Beginning as most lengthy epics do with slow atmospheric soundscapes, which segues into a soft acoustic interlude before giving way to a powerful riff and then picking up steam, thus the long epical journey begins, most Power Metal slappies will lap this shit up.

This is certainly one of the stronger efforts of 2009 from a band that for some unknown reason does not get major label recognition, or a whole lot of notoriety among fans of the genre. Highly Recommended!