Cloak makes their mark strongly with impressive ‘The Burning Dawn’

Atlanta, GA’s Cloak have been rapidly gaining momentum since their 2017 acclaimed release To Venomous Depths. I loved that 2017 record. Their newest, forthcoming release, however, The Burning Dawn is even better and this is the album that’s going to make the metal world really take notice. Cloak, in fact, gives us little choice because they present us with one of 2019’s strongest LPs that expertly straddles black metal and southern sludge rock.

The Burning Dawn is at the apex of the burgeoning black ‘n’ roll music scene. There are tons of lusciously evil black metal minor chords with expertly placed tremolo that isn’t overkill. Additionally, there’s a massive amount of rock sensibility, maturity and song craft that makes this record extremely accessible and inviting to those who aren’t really into straight forward black metal.

In listening to this record, I’m reminded of one my favorite bands out there on the scene now and that’s Sweden’s Tribulation. I like to think of Cloak as a younger, more distinctly American Tribulation with their sound. Both of these bands have immense breadth in their sounds and both have some expressly tight songwriting for the genre.

On of my favorite tracks on The Burning Dawn is “A Voice in the Night.” This song has some great guitar work and the lead work absolutely stands out. It’s a punchy song that leaves the listener wanting more – and that’s one of the marks of a truly great song.

The mix on the record is also completely on point. Guitars aren’t too loud, bass is prominent and drums and vocals work well for the listener. Scott Taysom’s lead vocals sound a bit better on this release than their previous one. They still retain their grittiness, however, and match the music.

While this record impressed me on the first listen, this album continues to grow on me more and more as I continue to listen to it. And I’ve definitely had this LP in my regular listening rotation since I obtained it. There’s just so much here – groove, darkness, black metal guitars and lots of soul. I really love this record. Jump on this bandwagon now because you’ll be able to say you saw them “back in the day.” They really are that good.