Line up: Fredrik Söderberg - guitars Henke Forss - vocals Tomas Asklund - drums Philip von Segebaden - bass
ANNO 1990 - The history of DAWN goes as far back as 1990 when founder member and guitarist Fredrik Söderberg left his former band, OBDURACY. (Even earlier than that, back in 1985 - 1986, Fredrik also was a member of CRANIUM who later changed their name to LEGION.) Hailing from Linköping, Sweden and therefore being close friends with death metal cult band SEANCE, it was not long before Patrik Jensen (today in THE HAUNTED and WITCHERY) recommended Fredrik a new guitarist, Andreas Fullmestad (formerly in MORGUE). Fredrik and Andreas got together and the unit was completed by drummer Karsten Larsson and bassist Dennis Karlsson (both ex Mortified members). The final addition to this early DAWN line up was Henke Forss (FUNERAL FEAST), providing the band with death growls from hell.
ANNO 1991 - 1991 marked the beginning of serious rehearsals as well as initiating the process of writing songs. The band name DAWN was finally decided upon and was actually taken from an old LEGION demo called "The Dawn", dating from 1986. During 1991 DAWN also started rehearsals for their first demo.
ANNO 1992 - In March 1992 DAWN recorded their first studio recording. Simply entitled "Demo 1" it was recorded during two days in Studio Arrogance outside of Linköping. The demo contained only two songs and must be seen as the very first effort of a young band. The sound quality is not the best, but the energy is there, which matters more. The demo sold something around 150 copies and is of course long since out of print. Shortly after the demo recording bassist Dennis Karlsson left the band to be replaced by Lars Tängmark from MORTIFIED. Later that same year DAWN decided to enter Dan Swanö’s Gory Sound Studios in Finspång to put their second demo on tape. This demo, called "Apparitions", was a much more mature offering than its somewhat youthful predecessor and soon achieved cult status in the death metal underground scene. A small Mexican record label called BELLPHEGOT RECORDS also decided to release this demo on CD and the deal was initially that DAWN would be given a release of their own. However, the final result was a split CD entitled "The Eternal Forest" with the Mexican death metal band PYPHOMGERTUM which somewhat ruined the CD but at the same time is a clear indication of how far ahead DAWN actually were to many of their competitors of the time.
ANNO 1993 - In 1993, DAWN decided to return to Dan Swanö’s Gory Sound Studios once again, this time to put on tape their "Promo 93" recording. This recording presented an even more refined sound including the change from traditional growling death metal vocals to more black metal oriented high pierced vocal torment, still handled by Henke Forss though, whose voice is one of the most merciless within the death / black metal scene. "Promo 93" was sent to different record companies and shortly after the American label NECROPOLIS RECORDS expressed their interest. Before long, DAWN put their autographs on paper and the well deserved record deal was a fact.
ANNO 1994 - 1994 proved to be a year of mixed events; positive things of course includes the recording of the debut album "Naer Sólen Gar Nider For Evogher" which was recorded in May, once again with Dan Swanö at the helm. The album can be described as a mix of death and black metal and is a furious assault of hatred and darkness interwoven with beautiful acoustic guitar parts. Two of the songs were translated into ancient Swedish by Shamaatae from the Swedish act ARCKANUM, which gave the album a very special atmosphere. Another breakthrough for DAWN this year was when Dutch label DISPLEASED RECORDS contacted NECROPOLIS for a licensing deal, thereby ensuring delivery of DAWN’s evil music to the metal masses also in Europe. Upon release of the album, DAWN held a release party where DARK FUNERAL opened up for the main attraction of the event, DAWN themselves. Unfortunately, DAWN also suffered a major setback in 1994. Main songwriter and guitarist Fredrik Söderberg hurt his hand severely in an accident at the butchery where he worked at the time. Fredrik had to undergo extensive surgery and was unable to play guitar for more than a year. The band was put on hold during this time, waiting for the recovery of its founder and main member.
ANNO 1995 - In 1995 DAWN started working their way back from the involuntary break caused by Fredrik Söderberg’s accident. Throughout the year they played some gigs but most of their time was devoted to writing new songs. They had originally planned to work with Dan Swanö once again but he was heavily booked and they chose to record in Abyss with Peter Tägtgren (also known from HYPOCRISY and PAIN). At this time, Abyss was not as established as it is today and up to this point DAWN had used the same producer for all their recordings except the very first demo. Still, the band saw the change of recording facilities as a chance to take the DAWN sound to even further heights and in winter 1995 they recorded the mini-CD "Sorgh Pa Svarte Vingar Flogh" which contained three brand new songs as well as a cover of INFERNÄL MÄJESTY’s "Night Of The Living Dead" (original recording to be found at the album "None Shall Defy" from 1986). Fredrik Söderberg had been a fan of INFERNÄL MÄJESTY since their days of glory back in the 80’s and felt that this was a good way of paying homage to this very much underrated band who in many aspects were light years ahead of other bands at the time. The other three songs of the mini-CD were built from the same elements as DAWN’s previous offerings but showed an even more epic and dark side in the song writing and arrangement development.
ANNO 1996 - On the 2nd of May 1996 DAWN made their first live appearance outside Sweden. The gig took place in Denmark and is remembered as one of the most furious and intense gigs ever performed by the band. 1996 also generated several opportunities for DAWN to tour, one of which was a 30 days’ trip around Europe with CRADLE OF FILTH who wanted them as support on their upcoming 1996 European tour. Unfortunately, DAWN had to decline due to several reasons, the most problematic being that drummer Karsten Larsson left the band for his other main band MITHOTYN. A new and more technical skinbasher was found in Jocke Pettersson (known from his work in among others THY PRIMORDIAL and NIDEN DIV. 187). The band finally decided to cancel the tour, partly because new drummer Jocke Pettersson still was not familiar with the DAWN songs but also because the new mini-CD was not yet released. The band decided to wait for another opportunity to be able to present some fresh material in their live set. Later that year the long awaited mini-CD "Sorgh Pa Svarte Vingar Flogh" was released and received fantastic reviews in established magazines and the underground alike.
ANNO 1997 - Come 1997, DAWN dedicated all their time to rehearsing and writing new songs for their second full length album. The change of drummers proved to be beneficial as the new recruitment Jocke Petterson’s drumming allowed for more intricate details in the songs, especially when it came to arrangements and technical mastery. DAWN once again entered Abyss Studios and during two hectic weeks in April finished the recording and mixing of their second full length album entitled "Slaughtersun (Crown Of The Triarchy)". Mastering took place at Cutting Room in Stockholm and having completed this, the band knew that they had produced an outstanding landmark in Swedish Death / Black Metal. The songs were even longer and more original than before and the production the best the band had ever enjoyed up to this point in their career. DAWN also decided to shoot their first video and finally chose the opening track "The Knell And The World" from their as yet unreleased second album "Slaughtersun (Crown Of The Triarchy)". Shooting sessions took place in December 1997 and the video was edited by David Palser, known, among other things, for his work with Emperor, Immortal etc. 1997 also marked a change of location: main member and founder Fredrik Söderberg moved to Stockholm as did drummer Jocke Pettersson. Jocke started working in Tomas Skogsberg’s well known Studio Sunlight which unfortunately crippled his possibilities to continue playing drums in DAWN on a full time basis. Fredrik Söderberg made the decision to keep the band going and started the search for a new drummer.
ANNO 1998 - 1998 saw the long awaited release of "Slaughtersun (Crown Of The Triarchy)", DAWN’s second full length album. The album hit the scene like a bomb, much like the sinister looking cover art, and soon DAWN’s name was on everyone’s lips, and for good reason. The album possesses a unique quality and is a highly original, dark melodic death / black metal album. The album contains seven songs, six of which are majestic epic opuses spanning up to 11 minutes of total mayhem and intensity. The lyrics were all written in English and this was the first album that contained no lyrics in Swedish. Furthermore, the lyrics were written by different people, one of which was childhood friend of Fredrik Söderberg and ex-AFFLICTED member Philip von Segebaden also known from CRANIUM and his own solo project DEFENDER. All in all, the album can be described as being more extreme than its predecessors, the fast parts were even faster and longer than before and the more atmospheric parts were more sophisticated than ever before. DAWN had created a masterpiece and once and for all proved their position as pioneers at the cutting edge of death / black metal. 1998 also marked monumental changes in the line-up and saw the departure of both long time guitarist Andreas Fullmestad and bassist Lars Tängmark. Since DAWN now was located in Stockholm it simply did not work out rehearsal-wise with the geographic split. Still, Fredrik Söderberg decided to create a new line-up in Stockholm and take his music to further heights.
ANNO 1999 - In early 1999, Fredrik Söderberg held a drummer audition with Tomas Asklund, aka Alzazmon in his former band, DARK FUNERAL. After extensive touring with DARK FUNERAL, Tomas decided to call it quits in the autumn of 1998. Having auditioned for DAWN, both Tomas and Fredrik were happy to start a new collaboration. Of all the drummers DAWN has ever had, Tomas Asklund is without doubt the most outstanding with technical skills and innovation bordering on the insane. Being a part of DAWN requires both musical skills and professional attitude and Tomas Asklund possesses all this and more. Being known as one of the fastest drummers in Sweden, Tomas is also a technical monster and tighter than a pair of wet stretch jeans. In finding Tomas, Fredrik simply has struck gold as there could be no man better suited for the job. Having solved the most immediate problem (i.e. that of finding a drummer) Fredrik started writing new material for the next DAWN album. In May, Fredrik Söderberg went to the US for a promotion tour and also managed to squeeze in a guest performance singing backing vocals on US Speed Metal band DEKAPITATOR’s debut album. 1999 proved beneficial in other ways as well as DAWN signed a sponsorship deal with JACKSON GUITARS who on Fredrik Söderberg’s suggestion brought back the cult axe Death Angel from the grave. During autumn 1999 DAWN’s line-up was further consolidated as long time musical companion Philip von Segebaden joined the band as the new bass player. Apart from being childhood friends, Fredrik and Philip has played together in several constellations over the years, the best known of which maybe is CRANIUM, a speed metal side project. Apart from this, Philip is recognized as the bass player of the Swedish cult death metal band AFFLICTED who recorded two albums for NUCLEAR BLAST in the early 90s. Nowadays, Philip has his own solo project DEFENDER which is straight heavy metal with epic qualities. Philip’s musical attitude differs a lot from previous bass players in DAWN as Philip always strives to see the bass as an instrument of its own and puts an effort into writing unique bass lines. Combined with his very special Rickenbacker sound and personal touch he is bound to bring a new dimension into DAWN’s music.
ANNO 2000 - With the arrival of the new millennium, DAWN’s line-up was finally completed through the addition of a second guitarist, Stefan Lundgren, also known as the guitarist of NECROMICON. Stefan is a highly skilled classical guitar player which in itself can be seen as another heavy firing cannon in the artillery known as DAWN. Throughout the entire year, the band put all their energy into writing new material and rehearsing and drummer Tomas Asklund also started working on his own studio, conveniently suited in the band’s rehearsal hall. He also played session drums on the NECROMICON album "Peccata Mundi". As the DAWN rehearsals progressed throughout the year, it became clear that the new very strong material and the new highly skilled line-up had come up with something simply unprecedented within the death / black metal scene.
Source: http://www.swedishmetal.net/s_m/bands/dawn/dawn.html
