Ra’s Dawn – Scales of Judgment
Metal Heaven - 4018996180114 - August 25, 2006
By Zack Attaran
There are some labels that are so unpredictable, surprise would be an afterthought if they signed and ambient-rapcore act. With others, such as Metal Heaven, you know exactly what you’re going to get, and
Ra’s Dawn is no exception.
Ra’s Dawn has a sound that is just plain old power metal, with a few quick Egyptian lines, and even one completely out of place- but cool nevertheless- folk segment. Throughout the record, there is a very slight resemblance to
Iron Maiden, but by no means are they of the same caliber. Other than their rare need to incorporate their ethnic fantasy, the German sextet just seems to drive a straight line, never veering from the path, and their creativity really suffers from it.
I’ve been told I’m a rather bitter person by several people this week, so I’ll dwell on the positives, which believe it or not
are present, for a little bit. Remember that folk segment? Well, it is really cool. Ugh, back to the melancholy. Yeah, that’s exactly what this album feels like. Referring to my hopeless metaphors, it’s as if the band was driving down the road, fell asleep, veered over those little yellow bumps, woke up, and then screeched back into their one lane haven. I guess they rack up a few more points because there really are no negatives. Still average though? Yep. Nothing too bad, but nothing too good either. Just same old same old, and I’d get the ritalin out before delving too deep into this one. I can’t say much about their previous material either, because it’s scarce, even among the world of P2P. As a matter of fact, I can’t say much of anything at all about them, because their bio is abysmal, and apparently their promo sheet is non-existent. Ranting aside though,
Scales of Judgment is average as hell, and Ra’s dawn are just as mediocre as it gets. The one definitive thing I can say about them, though, is, well… nothing at all, because I can think of nothing positive, nor negative about them. Yeah, I know I mentioned that already, but it really is worth hearing two times. This is just a CD that bears no signs of ambition, kind of like that kid that makes patterns on the scantron instead of actually taking the test. Oh wait, that's me.
6/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Ra’s Dawn Website
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