CD REVIEW: UPON THIS DAWNING – We Are All Sinners

Label: Artery Recordings

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Rating: 8.5/10

Reviewed by: Mike Hubbard

Italian metalcore band Upon This Dawning has been working on gaining a foothold in the United States since their signing with Fearless records and their first US release ‘To Keep Us Safe’ in 2012.  They had been honing their skills in their native Italy and the nascent hardcore scene in mainland Europe since their formation in 2007, but had their sights set on the larger US market.  When I was originally presented with the opportunity to review their latest full length, ‘We Are All Sinners’, release on April 29 on Artery records, I was less than enthused.  To me, ‘To Keep Us Safe’ was just that, safe.  It was well executed, but pretty generic.  I decided to give their latest disc a spin anyways, and am glad that I did.

UTD chose their name because all of the original bandmates had come from other bands, covering a variety of genres, and saw the band as the dawning of a new day.  In some ways they could change their name to ‘Upon This NEW Dawning’, because their songwriting and sound has improved significantly between releases.  The fact that they sound so much differently is not a coincidence.  In addition to the label change, they have a new lead vocalist in Dani Nelli and a new drummer in Gabriele Magrini.

The disc opens strong, with ‘Anima’ providing a dark sinister feel that blows the roof off.  The second song is ‘Embrace The Evil’ which demonstrates a seamless blend of Nelli’s screamed/growled vocals and guitarist/vocalist Teo Botticini’s clean vocals.  Botticini’s cleans are featured more prominently on the next track, ‘Obey’.  The attitude gets dialed up to 11 in the fourth track ‘13’, with blistering anger driven by Magrini’s pounding drums and Nelli’s growls and howls.  Other songs of note include ‘City Of Sin’, which is probably the most accessible track on the album, and ‘Fake’, which features synth/keyboard player Andrea Moserle displaying his best techno/electronica skills.

UTD has taken huge strides forward with ‘We Are All Sinners’.  They’ve broken out of the me-too mold of metalcore to provide a fresh voice in the crowded genre.  This release, along with their ceaseless touring, should add up to make Upon This Dawning one of the hotter new metalcore acts in 2014.

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Category: CD Reviews