Dawn of Disease is one of those phenomenal examples of ‘if you don’t at first succeed, try try again’. After faltering and disbanding in 2007, the band decided not to call it quits and in 2010, put out their first full length, ‘Legends of Brutality’. Rising off the success of their first full length, they put out a second, two years later in 2012, called ‘Crypts of the Unrotten’. Now, after four long years of waiting, fans are finally rewarded for their patience. ‘Worship the Grave’ is a seamless continuation of a well built legacy. It’s a flowing blend of melody and the classic Swedish brutal double blasts. For me, Dawn of disease is that perfect sweet spot for when you’re in the mood for Bloodbath, but also in the mood for some Amon Amarth. They hit the trademark Swedish sounds and do it really well, but can quickly switch into a more complex melodic and harmony focused line.
‘Worship The Grave’ starts off with the title track and one of my favorite hit or miss novelties; the classic “BLEH” spitting sound into heavy blasts. When it’s used in this context I really love it, I feel like it adds a nice sharp kick off point for the blasts to take off from. Worship the Grave is a solid track, the riffs are heavy and relentless, yet they break for moments of sweet melody that don’t sound wildly out of place. The intro squealing riff to “The Saviour’s Tomb” immediately reminded me of Mock the Cross off of The Fathomless Mastery by Bloodbath, which will always be a very good thing to be compared to. However, the following verse felt more forced and clunky, whereas the intro was smooth, polished, and groovy as all hell. It eventually falls into a much more natural sounding riff and everything moves promptly forward.
“Prayer for the Dawn” is a short little track in the middle of the record that adds a soft, beautiful, and melodic interlude between much heavier tracks. “Cult of the Fading Light” has that driving, marching beat to it that makes you want to get your raid and pillage pants on. The production quality is phenomenal as well, so the sound fills the entire room, corner to corner, wall to wall. “Outsourcing the Brain” has a few of my favorite things off this record. First one being my favorite track title and lyrical content which is absolutely brilliant, secondly, I love the galloping grooves throughout the track. Those are the lines that make me want to grab my bass and learn how to play because those tracks are the most fun to play and perform by far.
The bottom line here is Dawn of Disease continues to deliver on their unique style of Swedish death metal. In my opinion there are still a few rough patches in regards to the transitions between the beautiful melodies and the brutal blasting riffs, but overall the sound is incredible. Worship the Grave is a powerful record that holds its place well in the halls of the Swedish greats.