This Friday, Cologne, Germany, three-piece Purple Dawn release their second album, Peace & Doom Session Vol. II, through Electric Valley Records. There is no substitute for efficiency, and the trio of bassist/vocalist Patrick Rose, guitarist Timo Fritz (who also produced/mixed) and drummer Florian Geiling make their point quickly as the intro “Bonganchamun” establishes the method of tone and rhythm that the rest of the 40-minute/seven-track offering will follow, serving as the answer back to late-2020’s Peace & Doom Session Vol. I (review here) while maintaining that LP’s abiding ethic of pretense-free riffage, doomed burl and groove so deep you gotta say it three times: groove, groove, groove.

It is an old and correct adage that Heavy-with-a-capital-‘h’ comes from the rhythm section, and listening to Rose‘s bass rumbling and Geiling‘s drums pushing forward in “100 Years in a Day” and adding swing to the Sabbathian stomp of “Old Fashioned Black Madness” only reproves it, but neither Fritz‘s riffs in the lead role nor the gruff — yes, I did almost type “frugg” there and somehow that feels right too — vocals that meet their patterning is to be denied. True to the Session in Peace & Doom Session, the sound is more raw than elaborate in terms of production and the overarching feel is live across side A, with its shorter, punchier pieces like “100 Years in a Day” or “Power to the People,” or side B, which starts off with the “Forever My Queen”-style riffing of the nine-minute “The Moon Song” and broadens the atmospheric scope.

And I won’t take away from the sonic expansion of those later cuts — “The Moon Song” giving way to the classic metal shove of “Death to a Dying World” before the closing “Bonganchamun Part II” builds on the mostly instrumental opener — but perhaps the message here is that Purple Dawn‘s intention is to give their listeners a sampling of the various facets of their persona as a group. The first Peace & Doom Session worked similarly, with five livestream tracks up front and an accompanying three studio ones in the back, so it shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise, even if it might seem odd outside of the band’s own context. Somehow I doubt they mind doing something different from the crowd.

That said, whether it’s “Death to a Dying World” or “Power to the People” earlier — the latter a heavy-hippie-perspective centerpiece that speaks readily to the band’s ideology corresponding to the LP’s title; the two songs might be ‘doom’ and ‘peace,’ in other words — what unites the material is the heft that comes in accordance with the atmosphere unfolding later. As they did last time out, Purple Dawn maintain a sense of weight even in their most floating sections of the two longer inclusions — that’s “The Moon Song” and “Death to a Dying World” here — and that makes Peace & Doom Session Vol. II flow all the more like, well, an album. Again, this can only be intentional, especially the second time around.

And listening to the longer tracks, I’d take a non-session record from Purple Dawn, even if it’s recorded live like this. Maybe they’ve found their thing and this is how they’ll work going forward — if it’s fun, more power to them — and it’s much to their credit that neither Peace & Doom Session Vol. II nor its predecessor feels uneven for being tracked live with varying intentions. Bottom line is they’re playing to style(s), but clearly coming from a place of love for things heavy and riffed. Nothing here hurts and even in the turn to longer tracks, it should be easy to follow for experienced heads. And did I mention groove? Three times? Good, because groove, groove, groove.

So groove:

https://soundcloud.com/qabarpr/sets/purple-dawn-peace-doom-session-vol-ii/s-G6ecL5cduue

Purple Dawn presents their second record, Peace & Doom Session Vol. II, comes 11 March 2022 digitally and on multiple variations of vinyl via Electric Valley Records.

Cologne-based Purple Dawn has always been the balance between things: hard riffing energy and heart-hitting melody, good and bad, high and low, future and past, and sometimes far and beyond. And that’s why the three-piece calls their music “Peace & Doom.” Heavily rooted in the psychedelic hard rock saturated doom metal, Purple Dawn offers an enthralling blend of both classic and modern sounding bands. While their devotion towards Sabbath, Pentagram, and Zeppelin is conspicuous, their love for bands like Mastodon, Rezn, Windhand, or Orange Goblin should not be overlooked. In contrast to the majority of bands in the genre, Purple Dawn is not shy away from having a variety of styles in their songs: it’s like putting on a Led Zeppelin record where no track sounds like the other.

The power trio emerged in early-2020, and a few months after their formation, they offered the Peace & Doom Session Vol. I. The A-Side of the album contains the complete Peace & Doom Session, recorded live in the band’s rehearsal room in Cologne, whereas the B-Side comprises three studio tracks.

The first Peace & Doom Session was well received by the community, and Purple Dawn kept the torch lit and continued writing songs, even though there was no chance for a live show due to the lockdown. “..So as we couldn’t get our music out to the people and public stages, there really was no other way than playing a gig to the cameras again. So we did…” The doom-power-trio hit a great studio in Oberhausen and recorded the second chapter of their live sessions: Peace & Doom Session Vol. II. Every song aims for a non-identical direction, but all have some elements in common: massive riffs, powerful vocals, and a very own atmosphere. PDS Vol. II starts and ends with an instrumental (almost) piece called “Bonganchamun.” The five songs in between are tales from nomad rituals in the desert to the oppressiveness of the depths of the sea — revolution, misguided minds, and the intrinsic evil of human beings. The record captures an unfaltering high-energy set of Purple Dawn’s doom rock and brings upon PEACE & DOOM.

Track Listing:
1. Bonganchamun
2. 100 Years a Day
3. Old Fashioned Black Madness
4. Power to the People
5. The Moon Song
6. Death to a Dying World
7. Bonganchamun Part II

Credits:
Timo Fritz: Guitars
Patrick Rose: Bass & Vocals
Florian Geiling: Drums

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Tags: Cologne, Electric Valley Records, Germany, Peace & Doom Session Vol. II, Purple Dawn, Purple Dawn Peace & Doom Session Vol. ii

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 10th, 2022 at 7:48 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.