The second studio long-player from
Entombed
co-founder
Lars-Goeran Petrov
's newest iteration of the stalwart Swedish death metal institution,
Dead Dawn
should please fans of 2014's largely well-received
Back to the Front
. In 2013, with the courts deciding that the band's original name belonged to the four founding members,
Petrov
decided to go it alone, recruiting guitarist
Nico Elgstrand
, bassist
Victor Brandt
, and drummer
Olle Dahlstedt
, who comprised most of
's then-recent lineup, to come along for the ride. The resulting
had more in common with the churning, groove-heavy thunder of 2001's
Wolverine Blues
than it did the Gatling gun slaughter of 1991's
Clandestine
, and
follows a similar path. Opening with the taut and economical "Midas in Reverse," which features a nice, darkly melodic midsection but otherwise checks all of the classic
2.0 boxes (tension, release, repeat), the ten-track LP is is a grower, especially considering that its best moments don't materialize until about halfway through. Beginning with the thick,
Sabbathy
intro to "Total Death,"
Entombed A.D.
find their footing, tearing through a five-track onslaught of no-nonsense, NWOBHM-inspired everyman death metal that's shot through with enough hooks to incite a mini-riot in the hearts of even the most wayward fans -- they go full
Motoerhead
on the punishing "Silent Assassin" and "Black Survival," but they manage to inject enough Scandinavian bleakness into the proceedings to keep their signature on top. A tad derivative, but not at all unenjoyable, with
,
have done little to tarnish the legacy of either incarnations of the group. [
was also released in a limited-edition box set that included the album on CD in a digipack plus a bonus cassette with four demo tracks.] ~ James Christopher Monger