| Cambian Dawn (Demo) | 2002 | None |
Cambian Dawn, hailing from London, is one of those promising new traditional doom acts. Those who have seen this band playing live can only nod approvingly at the energy, passion and enthusiasm of this young trio on stage. This demo offers a small taste of the potential of this passionate band, although, I must add, the two tracks sometimes drown in the garage quality sound. Not that this is necessarily bad, as the obscure, underground sound creates an ambience comparable to the early Vitus records, reminding of the dirty sound with which old-school doom bands were known and loved by their fan base.
The two tracks show some 'conventional' doom influences (Vitus, Sabbath, Kyuss), but also other influences of '70 deities, like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Especially the beginning sequence of the second track 'Futile existence' is a bit too close for comfort to Zeppelin's 'Dazed and confused' opening riff with its descending bass lines and Matt's soulful vocals are strongly reminiscent of those of Robert Plant. Needless to say that I loved each note of it!
All in all, this demo is a very promising attempt and I'm looking forward to see a longer work of this band in the future -with a sound quality that does justice to their interesting vision of traditional doom/heavy rock.
1. Post millennium blues
2. Futile existence
Approx. 11 minutes
| Cambian Dawn (Demo CD) | 2003 | None |
The tracks are very catchy, with very interesting hooks and groovy riffs incorporating both stoner and doom elements. ‘Post-millenium blues’ is more uptempo and groovin’ while ‘futile existence’ (my favourite track on this demo) is slow and gloomy and has a huge doom-hit potential. The last track ‘taste the misery’ is again more uptempo and rocking.
The sound quality is still not excellent (the sound is somewhat murky and obscure), but the improvement compared to the garage quality of the first demo is obvious. However, the excellent songwriting makes this demo worth to check out for fans of bands ranging from The obsessed, Sabbath and Vitus to Kyuss and Cathedral.
1. Post millennium blues
2. Futile existence
3. Taste the Misery
Approx. 16 minutes
| Wastrel Children of an Insane Universe (MCD) | 2005 | None |
More complex and better produced are the two key words to describe the progress of the band since the previous demo. New drummer Zak proves to be a very worthy addition with his energetic, tight drumming while ex-drummer Tom proves to be a better guitar player and I would even go as far as to say that his guitar playing is superiour to that of his predecessor Sam!
Needless to say, this demo is not a pure doom release. Cambian Dawn always knew how to integrate more energetic and groovy influences into their sound after all. I’m particularly charmed by the many groovy guitar solos, the at times very strong riffing and Matt’s steadily improving vocals that are directly inspired by blues and not by Uncle Ozzy (for the change).
You guessed it, this is heavily recommended, and the band can finally boast a demo with stellar sound quality, alongside their already strong live reputation.
1. Regeneration
2. Storm Weather
3. Tattered Shreds of Faith
Approx. 25 minutes