Paragon Collapse are a Romanian band from Iasi, a city located near the border with Moldova and geographically far from the areas more traditionally harbingers of bands of a certain thickness as are the capital and the nearby Brasov, or Timisoara. Perhaps this is also the reason why the sound of the band founded by guitarist Alex Lefter is partially detached from the forms of metal that usually come from Romania, opting for a gothic doom sound with rather calm traits and that, while not shining for originality, is appreciated for its clarity. This is undoubtedly helped by the crystalline voice of Veronica Lefter, vocalist and violinist, who uses her talents to the fullest, giving a measured proof that is well suited to a sound mostly suffused, in which accelerations are sparse as well as the most robust passages. Despite being at their debut, Paragon Collapse have a long history behind them, so you’re certainly not dealing with novice musicians, which is clearly evident from the competence in dealing with the subject, thanks to which they manage to avoid certain cloying at risk in the genre and make all in all digestible work lasting almost an hour. If we want to find some defect in the proposal, we can not help but notice that the length of the songs, in some cases over ten minutes, does not facilitate the fruition, as well as a certain stylistic uniformity and the lack of a leading song prevent The Dawning to reach a level of absolute excellence. Having said that, the work of Paragon Collapse is definitely enjoyable and finds its best moments in two songs that somehow show the best aspects of the band: the more rarefied and evocative one, with the opener The Endless Dream, and the more progressive and robust one of the conclusive Deliverance. For those who appreciated in the past bands like The Third And The Mortal, Stream Of Passion and, of course, The Gathering was Anneke, The Dawning could be a pleasant surprise.

2018 – Loud Rage Music