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Overlords of the Greying Dawn (1997)
Overlords of the Greying Dawn is the debut record from Draconis. It was recorded in February 1997 but went unreleased for over a year. This is black metal with heavy influence from the Swedish scene. They mix the relentless blast beats and dark tremolo riffs of early Dark Funeral with a bit of Dissection's melodic sound and vocals reminiscent of early Angelcorpse.
Like most American black metal bands, they couldn’t fully shake their death metal roots. That said, even those moments work well within the context of the album. The production is a little flat and the playing has some sloppy moments, but it all adds to the rawness of the material. The guitars have a cold tone that fits the sombre and sometimes epic melodies. There’s a blasphemous, hateful feeling throughout, and Draconis play with pure ferocity. You can tell they’re putting everything they have into this. It’s not some amateurish garbage like Judas Iscariot, for example.
Despite very minor flaws, Overlords of the Greying Dawn is a solid album and one of the few releases from the states actually worth listening to. Highlights include the title track and “The Oracle of Eternal Doom”.
Like most American black metal bands, they couldn’t fully shake their death metal roots. That said, even those moments work well within the context of the album. The production is a little flat and the playing has some sloppy moments, but it all adds to the rawness of the material. The guitars have a cold tone that fits the sombre and sometimes epic melodies. There’s a blasphemous, hateful feeling throughout, and Draconis play with pure ferocity. You can tell they’re putting everything they have into this. It’s not some amateurish garbage like Judas Iscariot, for example.
Despite very minor flaws, Overlords of the Greying Dawn is a solid album and one of the few releases from the states actually worth listening to. Highlights include the title track and “The Oracle of Eternal Doom”.
(7 June 2025)
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