CAMBIAN DAWN – Wolves In The Springtime

Cambian Dawn is a band that formed in London, England in 2002. Since that time, they’ve gone through a couple of line-up changes and have also found the time to release three demo discs; the five-track, 34-minute Wolves In The Springtime is the foursome’s latest. The line-up on this release consists of Matt Kenway, vocals and bass; Tom Barker and Chris Goodchild, guitars; and Zak Newman, drums.

Cambian Dawn’s Web site says that the band started out as a sort of Stoner/Doom Rock band in their formative years, but that they have evolved since those early days into something a bit more experimental and unique, while still retaining the qualities of their influences. Wolves In The Springtime definitely has a Stoner/Doom-ish vibe to it, with loud, sludge-like (but still clear-sounding) guitar work and a groovy, very heavy bottom end. Songs also have a tendency to poke and meander around a bit, but always manage to get back on track before the listener gets bored. But, with an average playing time of around seven minutes per song (only opening track “The Words Are Not The World” is under five minutes in length), you find yourself at times wishing Cambian Dawn would get on with it and finish the song.

That’s not to say that Wolves In The Springtime is a boring disc, because it certainly isn’t. It’s full of heavy riffs and solid playing; the songs have a lot going on in them, with plenty of fuzzy, squealing guitar lines and solos thrown in to keep things interesting. Vocalist Kenway isn’t a really nuanced singer, but his voice fits the music well and he combines with Newman to form a solid rhythm section. Barker and Goodchild do a nice job on guitars, keeping everything heavily chugging along.

Not surprisingly, all the songs on Wolves In The Springtime are slow, although “The Words Are Not The World” is a bit faster-paced than the others. Cambian Dawn is piloting a steamroller made out of turgid, heavy grooves and even heavier riffs, and it just might roll over you if you’re not careful. Fans of Stoner and Doom Metal will appreciate what Cambian Dawn has done here, but if you don’t like this style of music you probably won’t care for this disc too much. For what it is though, it’s good.

If you like Stoner and/or Doom music that sounds a little bit different than the rest, you may want to give Cambian Dawn’s Wolves In The Springtime a listen. Groovy, man …