Solar Dawn (ex-Jarawynja), was formed back in 1997 by Anders Edlund (guitar) and Andreas Månsson (guitar). In 1998 a demo, called "The Festival Of Fools", was recorded with Christian Älvestam on session vocals, among others. A somewhat divided work of art with its mixture of death, black, thrash and heavy metal strains, to say the least, but still a respectable kickoff. Shortly after the recording, Christian were asked to join the band on a more permanent basis. A proposition he couldn't resist.
New songs were made and a promo-CD, entitled "Desideratum", was recorded in early 2000. A promo containing three songs of pounding, yet melodic death metal, showing a more determined and mature side of the band. "Desideratum" was used for promotional matters only and it was not long before the Danish label Mighty Music took an interest in the band. A deal was made and on the 16:th of February 2001, "Desideratum" was officially released through Mighty Music, re-mastered and now going under the name of "Frost-Work". Mainly in order to avoid any mix-up, but also to make a fresh start.
Having trouble finding a suitable drummer for their next recording, they turned to Jocke Pettersson (of Thy Primordial amongst others), for help. Since Christian had worked with him before with Unmoored, partly as being the co-producer of their debut album "Cimmerian", partly as the session-drummer on their follow-up (Kingdoms Of Greed), Christian knew Jocke was the right man for the job with his skill and experience. The recording of "Equinoctium", as the fullength album was to be called, took place at the respected Abyss studios with Tommy Tägtgren as the producer, in February 2001 (in fact, the very same week "Frost-Work" was released). Musically, you could say "Equinoctium" is a continuation of the sound established on "Frost-Work", seasoned with a somewhat more varied assortment. In the summer that same year, Henrik Schönström joined up on drums, completing the line-up.
To be continued...
