Amphetamin: At The Dawn Of Twilight

As we find more and more genre tags cluttering our thoughts, Amphetamin announce At The Dawn Of Twilight, a full length album and follow up to their 2010 EP Substitute, as somewhere between Post Rock and Progressive Rock. I'd suggest instead that what ATDOT leaves in its wake is melancholy or despair that somehow raises the spirits in a decidedly considered and dark manner. The mood crawls, then slithers, leaving a dank stain as it does so, hope being left far behind as we search for ever new ways to inspect the frailty of the mind and the pressures it is placed under.

Amphetamin are a three piece where names mean little and the need to tell you who plays what is seen as futile. Instead we are delivered seven tracks which wind themselves round your mind in a way that at first goes unnoticed. You won't find yourself singing along with the controlled cries of pain, nor will the desire to punch the air, or crack a smile, be at the forefront of the mind. You will however slowly begin to engage with the sparse arrangements and clear, sharp application of dark melody, while layers of keys add variances to the intentional gloom and unnerving atmosphere. In fact atmosphere is the aim, possibly the only goal and it becomes inescapable and at times consuming in a dispiritingly good way. For while At The Dawn Of Twilight is far from a joyous uplifting experience, it is undoubtedly one which causes you to engage what has been created and focus on the emotion and intention behind the sounds and imagery.

To bandy about comparisons, the unmetalised side of Opeth is unavoidable and the weight of mid-period Porcupine Tree inescapable, yet you wouldn't mistake this for either, nor indeed much else. A box ticked in itself.

As mood music goes, Amphetamin hit a nerve. What they provide will leave thrill seekers cold, those obsessed with technique nonplussed. However if you are looking for something to make it worth plugging in the headphones and switching off the lights, as you close your eyes and remove the world, At The Dawn Of Twilight will come into its own.

Track Listing
1. Lunae Lumen
2. E-rased
3. Pain(t)ful Memories
4. Wish & Fall
5. At The Dawn Of Twilight
6. Autumn III
7. A Shadow On Me

Added: February 9th 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Amphetamin on Bandcamp
Hits: 2200
Language: english

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