Generation of Dawn
Self Titled
5
Forget the scores and don’t read beyond the first paragraph, because really, there is very little you need out of this review. This single question litmus test will uncover whether you need this album or not: Are you interested in an industrial/nu metal band that may be a couple albums away from Headbanger’s Ball-type success? Depending on your tastes and perspectives, this question will evoke an overwhelmingly positive or negative response. Gauging from the tastes of the usual crowd of underground metal freaks that make up the MetalReview community, I’m guessing that most of our readers would sooner submit to a picante enema and gargle the output than have to sit through one more quasi-rapped nu metal album. Maybe I’m misjudging our readership, but we just don’t seem to be the target audience of fans at which Generation of Dawn is aiming. That’s not to say they don’t have anything to offer, just that I’m not buying what they’re selling. If you’re a fan of nu metal than there is a chance you’ll rate this album as fair to good. But Generation of Dawn, or GoD as they prefer to be known, are late to the nu metal party and by the time they hone their craft it’s quite possible that ship may have sailed for good.
The band’s initial four song offering is made up of accessible music influenced by bands like latter day Marilyn Manson, Monster Magnet and Static-X. At their best, the band crafts catchy hooks and easily accessible grooves. The opening track, “Born Dead” is the heaviest and best song on the EP and grooves with nu metal swagger. Still, even at their best musical moments, it’s difficult to get past the half rapped vocal delivery. At their worst, evident on “Next Time”, the material sounds canned and generic. The rapped lyrics and sterile riffs emanate that built for pop radio sound completely devoid of everything good about metal. The chorus of “Dawn Generation” provides brief respite from the typical vocal approach, but not in favor of something heavier. The song is the slowest track on the EP and is built around low key verses that lead to a big FM ready chorus. “Nothing 4 Nothing” rounds out the collection as the track with the strongest industrial leanings.
Just because GoD play a brand of music that most at MetalReview typically don’t enjoy doesn’t mean the band have nothing to offer. If this style sounds appealing, you can check out some mp3s at the band’s website. At their best GoD is average electronic nu metal, at their worst they sound several generations away from even that description.
