I usually work with newer artists on the scene, so teaming up with a long established and applauded band like Dawnwalker gave me a much different approach to the PR process. Already being a fan of Dawnwalker, it made me feel giddy to see The Unknowing land in my inbox. This is the sixth full length album from London’s most brilliant gothic proggy post-metallers. In order to prepare myself for working with Dawnwalker, I went and binged their entire discography in a week, read through previous reviews, and watched videos because I really wanted a press kit that not only captured the new album, but understood the band’s past. No mean feat considering every Dawnwalker release is so unique, featuring different collaborators, concepts and subgenre strands. From their prog metal beginnings on XIII Redux, to the epic blackened soundscapes of Ages, through to the gothic grandeur of House Of Sand.
The Unknowing is yet again another step into bold new territory for Dawnwalker, sounding closer to an “art rock” sound, with plenty of mysticism and eeriness in there too. The guitars take less prominence as vintage keyboards drive these songs, with more of an emphasis on strong vocal melodies, harmonies and rounds than ever before. Recorded across three studios with an exciting new line-up, The Unknowing boasts Dawnwalker at their most thoughtful and creative.
ACCOLADES
“Veteran post-metallers Dawnwalker are on a hot streak. The Unknowing is another fearless jog into the unknown, and the most accessible material the Londoners have released.”
~ Prog Magazine #154
“Though the ‘metal’ is dialed back from previous releases, the material remains heavy and effective. The Unknowing rewards multiple listens, with power in the details and strength in an illusion of simplicity.”
~ Angry Metal Guy
“The production really fits the sound that Dawnwalker are going for. This is another very impressive release from Dawnwalker that shows they are still evolving six albums in and shining.”
~ 4.5/5 Metal Epidemic
FROM THE PRESS KIT
For the past twelve years, underground British progressive champions Dawnwalker have built up an impressive and explorative discography see-sawing between the fringes of metal and rock, with no two records helming a similar approach. Remaining triumphantly independent, the brainchild of Mark Norgate has blossomed from their origins as a collaborative studio project into a revered live entity. Once again, Dawnwalker re-invent themselves with a new cast of talented musicians for their sixth observation – The Unknowing – a concept album meditating on grand themes concerning our shared search for belonging, and our desire to know our place in this vast, hostile and unknowable universe.
The Unknowing is a concise single LP disc experience built from nine individually memorable tracks, with only one breaking the five minute mark. In Mark Norgate’s own words, The Unknowing is “a conscious move away from post-metal towards something spacier and more progressive; and probably more pop too.”
Hitting the nail on the head, these songs are proggy without being indulgent, challenging without being overly complex, catchy and melodious with enough weird and off-kilter moments. A progressive rock sound, but with a bubbling metallic DNA intact. A boiling pot of great contradictions and contrasting flavours falling sweetly into place. Norgate prepared for the writing of the album researching and meeting with mystics, Tarot readers and astrologers, driven by a divine desire to trace humanity’s evergoing ways of understanding the hands of time, the cosmos, and where we fit into that space.
The Unknowing is yet another spectacular and engrossing entry into the lore of Dawnwalker, presenting them at their most spacious and detailed. Dawnwalker sound full of adventure and whimsy, neatly capturing a pastoral playfulness, whilst keeping their occult and folklore influenced spirit intact.
Released on October 18th on Vinyl and Digital.
PR TRAIL 