Mouth of the Architect - Dawning (2013)

Post-metal masters Mouth of the Architect have returned for their fourth outing and while it may not be as good as The Ties That Blind (my favorite record from them), it's still a solid and 100% worthwhile entry in their discography. As with their past three records, MotA construct epic, atmospheric tracks that are so tension-filled that you feel an incredible sense of catharsis by the end of them. Dawning flows very naturally; in fact, it's so seamless that the whole thing almost feels like a single song with different movements. The melodies are very simple, but quite powerful and gripping in the context of the songs. The harsh vocals on this record are simply fantastic and just what you'd want from any post-metal release. The clean vocals, on the other hand, are nothing to write home about and don't really seem to jive with harshes at times. That aside, I highly recommend this album. "How This Will End" and "The Other Son" alone make this an awesome listening experience to say nothing of the other great songs on Dawning. As this record shows, 2013 continues to be a great year for post-metal as well as metal in general.
9/10