Before The Dawn was created as a solo project
by guitarist/vocalist Tuomas Saukkonen in 1999.
Eventually a band was put together and, with varying
lineups, several releases were put out, but
after the release of 4:17am in 2004 the band reverted
back to a true Saukkonen solo project, as he recorded
the following two albums mostly by himself, with session
musicians on hand for live appearances.
At one point Saukkonen was operating two solo projects,
this band and
Dawn Of Solace,
but that band only lasted an album and this group,
while thriving as a full band for several years,
eventually
was halted in 2013 before being revived in 2021.
As heard on the aforementioned 4:17am, Before The Dawn
is very much a classic Finnish gothic metal band,
somewhat along the lines of what
Cemetary
sounded like in its prime.
Recent album: Archaic Flame,
released on March 8, 2024.
