First Dawn Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
- First Dawn is a project initiated in 2012. The recording of the Final epoch album started in the summer of 2013 and was finished year later in the fall of 2014. Right now First Dawn exists purely as a studio project so no live shows have been played or planned for the future.


2.In October you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
- In Final Epoch we tried to create a mix of synth soundscape with aggressive metal guitar riffing and drumming. First songs were slower paced ones like the Devastation and evolved from there  to maybe more traditional metal songs like Pilgrimage.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
-The lyrics basically take place post apocalypse/scifi scenery where remnants of humans leave their ruined earth behind and head To the stars with hope of starting with a clean slate. Underlying theme which also repeats throughout the record is a pessimistic view where nothing is never learned from the past mistakes. The shame of the Devastation caused by the protagonist at the beginning of the story is forgotten in few thousand years and after that it's business as usual :)

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'First Dawn'?
-The name First Dawn was proposed in one of our band get-togethers. Sounded cool so we used that.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
-First Dawn hasn't played any live shows.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
-There are no plans for playing live with this band. However, we don't want to rule anything out. If something very special or interesting comes up we will definitely consider it.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
-We have not ruled anything out, but we are not looking for a label very actively.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic black metal?
-The feedback has been mostly positive. The music for the Final epoch album was made and recorded because we felt these songs were good and deserve to be put out somehow. It has been extremely nice to see that lots of people have liked our music.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
-No new First dawn songs have yet been completed, but hopefully during this year I'll find time to put stuff together for the next FD release. My vision is, at least right now, that the music will be something like Devastation and To the stars (in Final Epoch), further combined with electrical synth based music and orchestral influences.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
-Band and records form many different genres had an influence on Final epoch album. There is obviously lots of metal bands. Finnish bands like Moonsorrow, Swallow the sun and Alghazanth as well as melodic black metal bands like Emperor and Darkspace, to name a few. Also, influences from from movie soundtracks like Blade runner and Terminator had a huge effect on the Final epoch sound.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
-Well, movies, books and figuring out the world. I'm a fan of scifi and post apocalypse stuff in general, which reflects also strongly in Final epoch lyrics.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
-Thanks for everyone who have taken time to listen our music. If you like it, spread the word and check out our Facebook.

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First Dawn/Final Epoch/2014 Full Length Review

  First  Dawn  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Final  Epoch"/

  A  very  dark  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  making  most  of  the  tracks  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  along  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  symphonic  elements  are  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  sound  and  they  also  add  a  great  amount  of  melody  into  their  songs  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sounding  presence  on  the  recording.

  When  fast  parts  are  utilized  they  bring  back  memories  of  the  90's  style  of  melodic  black  metal  and  on  the  2nd  track  melodic  guitar  leads  find  their  way  onto  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  use  of  background  choirs  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  faster  riffs  have  more  of  a  dominant  presence  on  the  album  while  the  synths  also  start  bringing  in  more ambient  elements  and  on  the  last  track  there  is  a  brief  use  of  violins  being  utilized.

  First  Dawn  plays  a  style  of  melodic  black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  and  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  tradition  of  this  musical  genre  and  they  bring  a  more  darkened  atmosphere  that  has  been  missing  in  this  musical  genre  for  the  last  few  years,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  First  Dawn  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "To  The  Stars"  and  "Edge  of  The  Universe".  8  out  of  10.        

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