Despite how far too many people may believe that death metal is in a sort of a slump in one way or another, I cannot help but deeply and irrevocably disagree with that for I truly believe we find ourselves in a one of a kind golden for death metal from all angles. No matter what style or brand you’re into, you truly have a menagerie of options to choose from with thousands at your disposal at any time anywhere, and that goes particularly strong for people into the old-school vein. We’ve never seen as many iterations of that sound as much as we do today with so many bands coming around to do it nothing but absolute glory. Just Before Dawn is merely a drop in an ocean of other acts performing the same style, but it’s constantly their performances that are some of the most potent whenever a new one comes around, and their new EP is far from the exception.

It can be almost effortless to come upon a classic style and have the subconscious desire to make it your own sound thus changing what made that original formula so great in the first place, but there are few bastions like the old school of death metal where we can see the sound virtually untouched even decades after its inception. Throngs of acts have come around to present to us their takes on the sound to dramatic effect on a surprisingly consistent basis, and it’s after not even being around for ten years at this point that Just Before Dawn has quickly made a name for themselves as a well-trusted and constant source of that old school glory on a scale that many cling to. Filled with current and former members that have been true icons in the world of death metal as we know it, Just Before Dawn is easily one of the more underrated acts in the underground to reach the status they’ve achieved without becoming widespread with “In the Realm of Ash and Sorrow” simply being their latest assault of blazing glory whose excellence cannot be denied. Every possible inch of this bold EP is wreathed in riffs that carry with them terrible power right from the very beginning as it’s throughout the whole of the EP that we get plenty of what we’ve come to expect alongside a drawn-out, punishing piece as the penultimate track with a well-executed tribute to legends past wrapping up this vicious craft of metal, blood, and dirt. It’s a work that is exactly what it needs to be – a quick burst of an assault with one of the most well-suited group of shock troopers we can ask for as they do their dirty work, never stay longer than they have to, leave only once their job is done, and after they leave there’s no question as to who reigned fire upon the unfortunate target.

A quick, hungry EP fits this kind of band all but perfectly for it can really show us in a calculated yet no less strategic burst just how deadly they can be without any room for error nor overstaying their welcome, and it’s here that Just Before Dawn does nothing but decimate in their grim task. The very bones of “In the Realm of Ash and Sorrow” is what continues to draw people to old school death metal in the first place with this effort showing us yet again that Just Before Dawn demands to be named as one of the more striking acts from all of Sweden who still inhabit the old but nonetheless thriving school that is death metal.

“In the Realm of Ash and Sorrow” releases on December 18th via Raw Skull Recordz!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “In the Realm of Ash and Sorrow” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Just Before Dawn on Facebook here.