ALBUM REVIEW: Waves – Dawn of Solace

In January 2013, Finnish virtuoso Toumas Saukkonen pulled the trigger on all of his bands and projects, launching WOLFHEART with the intention of focusing all his musical energy into one project. One of the biggest losses with this decision was DAWN OF SOLACE, his Gothic melodic death/doom outfit, whose sole album, The Darkness, was an instant classic. After bringing WOLFHEART to the top of the European melodic death metal scene in the latter half of the 2010s, Saukkonen revived DAWN OF SOLACE once more with Waves – but was a new DAWN OF SOLACE album worth the wait, or was the project better left buried?

For those unfamiliar with Saukkonen‘s extensive back-catalogue, Waves may come as a shock to the system. Leaving behind with blackened, ferocious and grandiose melo-death of WOLFHEART, DAWN OF SOLACE is a much more melodic affair. Waves immediately plunges the listener into a seemingly bottomless pit of misery with opening track and lead single Lead Wings, sombre melodies and a doomed pace working in wonderful unison with Mikko Heikkilä‘s soaring crooning. Immeasurably catchy, Lead Wings sets a heartbreaking but instantly memorable tone for the record.

Ashes then hammers home the tangible despair DAWN OF SOLACE carries with Waves, though offering a more doom-laden, harsher stomp than the almost-radio-friendly opener, while Silence brings massive hooks and stunning lead work into play. Reaching the midway point, Hiding carries an unsettled, ominous sound, with Heikkilä taking centre stage while Saukkonen‘s instrumentation is much more subdued. The last third of Hiding takes a brilliant twist, with Saukkonen displaying his incredible songwriting abilities, delving into some truly stunning solo work.

Tuli lumbers in with a bass-heavy, dirge-like progression. Subtle use of keys really brings the tension of Tuli to breaking point, before Heikkilä delivers one of his best vocal performances on Waves, sung entirely in Finnish and complimented perfectly by Saukkonen‘s barked growls. DAWN OF SOLACE don’t take their foot off the pedal for the final stretch of Waves. Numb joins Tuli as a highlight moment, with Saukkonen again throwing down the gauntlet with his solo work and the slightly faster tempo giving a nice change of pace to what has been a very doomy album thus far. Penultimate track Choice keeps the quicker pace going, bringing a more traditional metal sound to play – a bit of a wildcard, but one that works exceedingly well. Saukkonen and Heikkilä bring Waves to a heartbreaking close with Ghost – a four minute, piano led piece that is as beautiful as it is tear-jerking.

While Saukkonen’s focus in recent years on WOLFHEART has led the band to become one of the most exciting melodic death metal bands in the game, his legion of past projects have been missed. Waves, therefore, comes as a very welcome addition to his discography. DAWN OF SOLACE are a world away from WOLFHEART, switching the blackened melo-death for gothic, melancholic doom – but the artistic brilliance of Saukkonen remains. Waves is a worthy successor to The Darkness; a musical journey of unparalleled emotion and despair. 

Rating: 8/10

Waves is out now via Noble Demon Records. 

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