Upon This Dawning – To Keep Us Safe
Review by Jen Boylen
When a band makes their debut, especially in a post hardcore/ alternative metal scene, we don’t really have much to base their capabilities on other than usually how tight they can wear their jeans. Listeners also sort of get pigeon holed into comparing the band with the other musicians currently in their genre or musical style. When Upon This Dawning first got on the radar they were immediately in a class all their own because they hail from Italy, but since being signed to Fearless Records and relentless touring they have caught the eye of many music lovers. With their first debut full length, To Keep Us Safe, under their belts, it’s clear that Upon This Dawning can only go up from here.
To Keep Us Safe begins with three songs we’ve already heard, “A New Beginning” featuring Chris from Motionless in White that already has a lyric video and has a music video to be soon released, “Of Human Reaction”, Upon This Dawning’s debut music video, and “Nothing Lasts Forever” that was released as a lyric video two weeks prior to the release of this record. I sort of wish they would have staggered these pre-releases just to keep the interest between favorites and new tracks, but that’s just me.
“From Hell To The West” and “Sons of Venice” are definitely two of my favorite tracks on the record, but I think “All In Your Head” is definitely a hidden gem on this record. It’s unlike the rest of To Keep Us Safe so I bet lots of people just skipped over it , but it features screaming, singing, and electronics, and it has such an eerie feel to it. It’s definitely not always easy for a breakdown band to take all that heaviness away and still get a killer song out of it. But Upon This Dawning did it flawlessly.
From start to finish this record is filled with breakdowns (who would’ve guessed?), heavy screaming, clean crisp instrumentals, and surprisingly catchy melodies and vocals, as well as some great electronic elements on top of it all. I genuinely enjoyed this record. While it may have not tipped the scales as being entirely new and innovative, it is definitely a great post hardcore album. Plus, every once and while when you catch a tiny hint of Upon This Dawning’s accents on the vocals you couldn’t help but smile and commend this six piece for working their asses off as musicians in America.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Recommended Tracks: “From Hell To The West” “Sons of Venice” and “All In Your Head”
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