It’s been  3 years since Anders Biazzi (ex –Amon Amarth, Gods Forsaken, Blood Mortized) released a Just Before Dawn album, the war themed Swedish death metal project with a veritable host of guest vocalists and musicians. There has been a couple of EPs and a single, and now right before the band’s next full length release, Tides of Blood, we get a compilation to wet out appetite for mid range Swedish death metal done Bolt Thrower style (or vice versa).

This compilation puts together the three tracks from last years Ghosts of the Eastern Front cassette, 2 new tracks , two older tracks with different vocalists, 2 unreleased, pre production tracks and the jewel of this release, a multi track, Bolt Thrower medley.

The first three tracks from the Eastern Front cassette (“The Ghosts of the Eastern Front”, “Lower Dnieper Offensive” and a cover Hail of Bullets’ “Ordered Eastward”) are big rumbling, mid paced, trundling tracks with the expected guest vocals provided by Rai Wolters (Departed Souls) who also does the redone tracks, Marc Niederhagemann (Lifeless) and David Nilsson (Feral) and Jorgen Kristensen (Dead Awaken) helping out one of the bands other full time member Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath, Ursinne, Ashcloud, Henry Kane, Gods Forsaken) for the Hail of Bullets tune, a damn fine cover, if nay perfectly fitting cover.

Fourth, new track “Fortress at Lorient” is more of the same, with Nilsson again delivering the vocals, but of note on the next few tracks is that Rick Rozz from Death helps out with lead guitars on the redone track “Under Wheels of Death” and new track “Panzerkampfwagen IV”. But if you own Precis innan gryningen, the debut, that’s not the reason to get this release. And frankly, the other songs really don’t warrant this release, as they seem window dressing for the releases clear cut centerpiece.

The reason to pick up this release is arguably the great Bolt Thrower tribute ever recorded. “We Will Remember Them” seamlessly blends “For Victory”, ‘World Eater”, “Powder Burns”, “This Time It’s War” and “What Dwells Within” into one, 12 minute monster of a track with Pettersson getting some help from Dave Rotten (Avulsed). It’s sheer bliss for Bolt Thrower fans and of shows how much the British legends have influenced Just Before Dawn‘s sound.

It’s clear that the Bolt Thrower medley was the point of this release, but Biazzi and co needed to pad it out a little more, and they did with some niceties ( the two beefy as fuck pre production tracks aren’t even listed) , but it’s worth it and with the next album featuring Dave Ingram (Benediction, Echelon etc) and Ralf Hauber (Revel in Flesh) along with the usual suspects , Just Before Dawn are easily the predominant ,war themed, Swedish death meal super group.

[Visit the band's website]

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