Dusk
Dusk (Mcd) 1994 Cybermusic
This very hard to find Mcd from the US based doom-metal band Dusk is one of the older releases in de doom/death genre. Dusk seems to be an American/Dutch project. On the front cover we see a dark black/white picture of a small (church?) ruin with a few dead trees around it. On the back there is a picture of huge piles of skulls and bones inside a church, with crucifixes between them. The desolate atmosphere is precisely what matches the music on the album. Dark, aggressive, doom/death-metal, with a lot of heavier death-metal parts, including double-bassdrum blastbeat parts. Pain, destruction, betrayal, uncertain destiny, the lyrics make our minds contemplate the darker parts of life. The music itself is as heavy and dark as can be expected. Unclear, heavy, downtuned guitar riffing; deep and sickening grunting vocals; synths help create the atmosphere with thin layers of strings. Production of this album is a bit of a minus, although one can say that it adds to the overall atmosphere of the Mcd. After this Mcd, Dusk released another one, called 'Majestic Thou in Ruin', after which the band apparently has come to an end. A real shame indeed.	1. Envision the Terror 2. Element of Symmetry 3. Begotten Interlude 4. Dreamscape 5. Consigned to Oblivion 6. Mourning Shadow Approx. 30 minutes
Reviewed by: Heiko Isselee
...Majestic Thou in Ruin (Mcd) 1995 Requiem Productions
In the beginning the gods of doom created Dusk. And Dusk was waste and void; and darkness was upon its face of deep: and the Spirit of the gods of Doom moved upon the music of Dusk and the gods of doom said, Let there be '… Majestic Thou in Ruin': and there was Ruin. And the gods of Doom heard the album, and they knew that it was good: and the gods divided the light from the darkness. And the gods of Doom called the light popmusic, and the darkness they called Dusk. And the gods of Doom said: 'Let Dusk bring forth the most heavy and depressing death/doom of their kind': and it was so. And the gods of Doom saw that it was good. And the gods said: 'Let Dusk have dominion over the most depressive of sounds, and over the most heavy of sounds, and over all beings that wallow in self-pity', and it was so. And then the gods of Doom grew tired and took it all away, for was to be no more, '…Majestic Thou in Ruin' being but a (old) testament for future bands to look to in wonder and amazement.	1. ...Majestic thou in Ruin 2. Paled 3. Thy Bitter Woe 4. The Transfigutation (and it was so) Approx. 33 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel
To find new darkness / The slumber (Split CD) 2005 Cursed Productions
It’s maybe a lesser known fact in the dark doom scene that the names Aphotic and Dusk are strongly related. While the former (who disbanded only recently) are a well-known and respected entity in the realms of dark metal, Dusk are their somewhat obscure predecessors who have acquired legendary status within the doom metal genre but have sadly remained completely unknown to the rest of the metal population. This split album resurrects the since years disbanded Dusk and combines their as yet unreleased swansong ‘The slumber’ with what has ironically become one of Aphotic’s last efforts since the band recently announced that they are breaking up. Aphotic are once again offering us exactly what they offered on their previous EPs: high quality mid tempo dark metal, which this time –even more than in the past- brings forth reminiscences of Katatonia’s masterpiece `Brave Murder Day’. Their short, straightforward tracks are of high emotional and productional standards and can easily appeal to any fan of the aforementioned Katatonia, as well as bands like Rapture and Daylight Dies. I always thought that there were traces of Aphotic in a lot of Dusk’s work, but this EP is unique in its ability to demonstrate the gradual transition of the one band to the other. The raw, aggressive sound we got accustomed to through the first two Dusk EP’s is still there, but the band were clearly in a transitional period as more atmospheric elements than ever are present here: mysterious acoustic guitar parts, ‘clean’ and chanted vocals, and weird guitar synths create a mystical atmosphere not too dissimilar to diSEMBOWELMENT’s unique mix of heavy, unrelenting death/doom metal with subtle ambient elements. Aphotic fans can blindly buy this release as their new output is as consistent and high quality as all their previous EP’s. As for Dusk fans, this is a very interesting release from a historical point of view and a worthy addition to the two MCDs for which these purveyors of darkness and atmosphere are renowned.	Aphotic: 1. Crystallized 2. Spade 3. Sea 4. All we have is this… Dusk: 5. An aerial view 6. Steal my soul 7. The slumber 8. Perpetual shrieks 9. Moonbeams Approx. 40 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou