Finland is home to some of the most acclaimed Melodic Death Metal bands in the scene. This chilly, cool country is heated up by the vast amount of fiery talent offered by their locals. Before the Dawn was one of these great acts that proudly waved the banner of MeloDeath high. Shortly after the release of their very successful record, Rise of the Phoenix in 2012, the band went on hiatus. Now the Finnish fellas are preparing to release their first album after their ten-year absence. With a new lineup, a revived energy, and an eagerness to share their sound again, the band is back with Stormbringers (Napalm Records).
Austrian musician Philip Santoll bore his solo project Nonexistence into this world with the excellently received Nihil back in 2007 but since then he has been a little on the quiet side. Thankfully, that silence wrought the impressive Antarctica; a work in which Santoll brought on board Finnish artist Tuomas Saukkonen (Before the Dawn, Black Sun Aeon) in order to produce and offer creative input for the first time in Nonexistence’s life. Saukkonen also lends his talents to the bass and drums on the record and the effect of the collaboration is felt across the entirety of Antarctica – from the steady thrum that the bass injects to proceedings to the monolithic weight of the work as a whole.