AT THE SOUNDLESS DAWN

This was my first ever Post-Rock record, so it does have special meaning to me. For me this was the perfect place to start.These guys are powerful yet they don't hit those explosive climaxes of say a GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR or YNDI HALDA. They also don't have those slow build ups either, this is just amazing guitar driven Post-Rock. The steel pedal sounds are unique and a nice touch as well. The titles of the songs are very long and actually make up a short apocalyptic story.

"Alone And Unaware, The Landscape Was Transformed In Front Of Our Eyes" opens with drums and guitar before those distinct steel pedal sounds arrive a minute in. A calm before 3 minutes is brief as the song comes back harder than before. Love the guitar 4 1/2 minutes in. The tempo continues to shift. Another calm 6 minutes in as it starts to get experimental with vocal samples. No melody. "Buildings Began To Stretch Wide Across The Sky, And The Air Filled With A Reddish Glow" sounds so amazing to open as drums pound and guitars fill the air with metal. It starts to settle down slowly until before 3 minutes to 4 minutes it's very quiet. Then it kicks back in powerfully. Nice.This continue until 6 minutes in when it becomes pastoral right to the end. "The Soundless Dawn Came Alive As Cities Began To Mark The Horizon" opens with beautiful sounding guitar melodies. Drums come in around 1 1/2 minutes. An excellent sound follows. It calms down again as the tempo continues to shift.The guitar gets heavy before 3 1/2 minutes.This sounds so good.

"Mechanical Sounds Cascaded Through The City Walls And Everyone Reveled In Their Ignorance" opens with these slowly pulsating mechanical sounds for 3 minutes when they are replaced by gentle guitar. Bass, synths and drums all join in as it builds. A full sound erupts 6 1/2 minutes in. It settles some a minute later, and steel pedal arrive 8 minutes in. From 9 minutes to the end it's spacey and haunting with no melody. "A Brief Moment Of Clarity Broke Through the deafening Hum, But It Was too Late" opens with bass, drums and steel pedal, guitar join quickly in this brighter section. It's silent before 4 minutes as faint vocal samples can be heard and an eerie sound.This sounds so hopeless. Too late. "Our Happiest Days Slowly Began To Turn Into Dust" is melancholic to open but it does get hopeful. More powerful 5 minutes in. "The Sixth Extinction Crept Up Slowly, Like Sunlight Through The Shutters, As We Looked Back In Regret..." is an almost 20 minute guitar led song that builds and receeds throughout. Some power in this one especially before 11 minutes. After that explosive outbreak it stays almost "soundless" until 16 1/2 minutes in when what sounds like a world ending sound continues to the end.

I am so impressed with this album. And the way the music expresses what we read in the song titles is brilliant.