Dawn is the new CD from Italian Symphonic Power Metal masters Thy Majestie, more proof that Italy certainly produces some great metal bands. It has been a while since their last album Jeanne d'Arc, along with the earlier Hastings 1066, both were fantastic epic masterpieces, so how does their latest effort compare? It was definitely worth the wait even with major line-up changes they have returned in style with three new members-I'm sure it couldn't have been easy to find a suitable singer,guitarist and keyboard player. Performance wise it's a great CD, as with previous releases there's a technical/progressive elemet present in their music. Dawn has many memorable guitar riffs and melodies from Simone Campione , excellent use of keyboards by Valerio Castorino, Dario D'Alessandro's cool bass playing and Claudio Diprima's fine drumming, combined with Dario Cascio's inspiring vocals, Thy Majestie's Dawn is a spirited and exciting release.
Dawn has seven full tracks separated into three chapters (see track list below), in addition track five "The Legacy Suite" consists of five parts. Track one "As you Fall" is a fine song with an impressive keyboard/guitar solo section like those on "M.A.D.", which is short for Mutal Assured Destruction , and "To an Endless Devotion", while "Dawn" is a fitting instrumental with some great guitar playing. The rest of the album has more fine performances, each of Thy Majestie's members demonstrating their talents.
Thy Majestie are a great band, well worth checking out if you haven't already, and Dawn is a terrific starting place and one of 2008's finest.
Track listing:
Chapter One: Trapasso - Exequies of the formal sphere
1. As you Fall
2. M.A.D.
3. Dawn
4. The Hunt
Chapter Two: Rovina - The neverending night
5. The Legacy Suite
a. Of pain and Disgrace
b. To an Endless Devotion
c. Inferis Armata
d. Two Minutes Hate
e. The Legacy
6. Out The Edge
Chapter Three: Vendetta - A new Dawn
7. Day of the Changes
8. Through Heat and Fire