Of Decay And Desire is already the third release of this German trio. However I must admit that I had never heard of the band before. The biography nicely states that Dark At Dawn play ‘Dark Romantic Power Metal’, whatever that may be. All in all a not too promising statement but over the years I’ve learned not to pay too much attention to whatever biographies claim, because in most cases they are either wrong or terribly exaggerated.

After I listened to the disc for the first time, I note once more, with a small grin of satisfaction, that biographies are not to be trusted. I can understand the dark part, but there it pretty much ends. Dark At Dawn plays very modern melodic metal that leans slightly towards Sentenced. This is mostly due to the rough vocals of Buddy Kohlrausch. How anyone can call this power metal goes truly beyond me, but hey, nowadays everything is power metal and who really cares: it’s the music that should do the talking.

Of Decay And Desire is overall very decent with compact songs that feature good melodies and powerful riffs. Kohlrausch dark and rough vocals add a nice touch to the music, although he sometimes fails to deliver during the more melodic parts. Some songs, like “Luna” for instance, feature beautiful (notice how I use the word beautiful. Is it that I’m growing complacent?) female vocals that form a deep contrast and I guess this is where the romantic part comes in.

The production is done by the more than famous Mika Jussila in the Finnvox Studios in Helsinki and although I’m normally not a big fan of his sound, I have to admit he has done a great job on this disc. The sound is heavy and clear and suits the music perfectly. One can only conclude that Dark At Dawn delivers a strong album. The absolute best songs of the album: “Forever” and “The 5th Horseman”.