In 1995 one of the most inexplicable incidents took place - an incident that shook the foundations of atmospheric metal to its very core: the charismatic duet Jonas Renkse/Anders 'Blackheim’ Nystrom decided to part ways and by doing so put ‘on ice’ one of the most unique and inspirational projects of atmospheric metal, namely Katatonia. We all know, of course, that this separation only really lasted for one year, yet it triggered a reaction which brought to life a few very interesting projects, one of which was the Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal outfit October Tide.

Just as with Katatonia, October Tide was the product of the collaboration between two musicians and surely the fact that rhythm guitarist Fredrik Norman decided to accompany Jonas Renkse on this new musical journey must have really terrified the fans of the legendary Swedish outfit at the time. Well, October Tide only really managed to release two albums, the second of which was 'Grey Dawn' back in 1999, and even though both these releases share similar ‘values’ with classics such as 'Dance Of December Souls' and 'Brave Murder Day', none of them managed to reach the high levels of Katatonia’s earliest releases and the reason behind that is, in my humble opinion, the absence of Anders 'Blackheim’ Nystrom’s participation in the project.

One word that definitely describes 'Grey Dawn' is simplicity. You see, with the exception of 'Into Deep Sleep', whose rhythmical pattern is quite daring and unpredictable in nature, the vast majority of the remaining compositions are based on slow rhythmical Pradise Lost-sounding riffs and simple guitar and vocal melodies that are reasonably memorable and easy to digest. 'But that is exactly the same method/attitude behind the creation of ‘Brave Murder Day’', one could certainly claim and with much justification, yet what this release certainly lacks are those ‘out of this world’ eerie guitar passages and haunting/atmospheric breaks that only Nystrom’s guitar seems to be really capable of producing.

That doesn’t mean, though, that fans of early Katatonia, Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride will not find this forty minute journey to the world of atmospheric Doom/Death Metal a really enjoyable experience. After the catchy refrain and the mournful theme of 'Grey Dawn', one comes in contact with the simple but quite impressive melodic theme of 'October Insight' - a five minute rhythmical composition whose main riffs and vocal performance betray the band’s admiration for Paradise Lost’s classic gem 'Gothic'. The following composition 'Sweetness Dies' is an equally contagious composition, which manages to capture one’s attention without being extremely impressive and that is probably due to the very short but interesting acoustic break located half way through the song - one that includes a really short but inspiring bass tune.

The remaining compositions of the album are moving in a similar direction, with 'Floating' and 'Dear Sun' standing out - the former due to its beautiful medieval-sounding acoustic guitar break and the latter as a slow and deeply melancholic instrumental opus.

I believe that 'Grey Dawn' was a very important release both to the fans of Katatonia and the duet Renkse/Norman. Why? Well, I guess it kind of proved to everyone that, even though there is certainly life after Katatonia, even a very impressive effort such as 'Grey Dawn' cannot really compare to the epic releases that Katatonia brought to life since the rise of the new millennium. Having said that, fans of Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal should definitely not miss out on in this release - an album that will almost certainly offer them its undoubted companionship whenever that is requested by its listener.

***½

Review by John Stefanis