CanadianWasteland Archives: Dawnbreed - Discography (1994-2000)

Dawnbreed was an emotional hardcore band from Böblingen, Germany who was active from 1994-2000. They released two full-length albums and a handful of 7"s, one of which was a split with Mine. All but one member of the band was also in indie rock band, Monochrome.

Dawnbreed's sound varies substantially from release to release. Their 7", Amoklaufgefühl was the first I heard from them and it is significantly heavier and more typical of Germany's hardcore scene. However, upon listening to their 12" titled Aroma, I was surprised to hear how different it was. Less heavy and almost more art-rocky, their 12" sounds more "emo" and less like the plethora of other Hardcore bands in Germany at this time. I don't prefer one over the other, the 7" features some incredibly raw vocals and dissonant, "emoviolencey" riffs, while some of their other music feels more artful. I respect them for being able to pull off both.

In all fairness, I always had a hard time getting into more classic German hardcore like AcMe, Morser, Abyss or any of the "Bremencore" inspired bands such as Union Of Uranus, Acrid, etc. Even with that bias aside though, in my opinion, Dawnbreed was one of the best and most unique of the hardcore coming out of Germany in the 90s. Their music moves from fast-paced, heavy hitting and violent to dissonant and mathy with the use of jazzy horns in some songs and they do so seamlessly. All their music is great despite its differences, they did it all well. Their variance from release to release is what makes them stand out so clearly in my mind, as not many bands can successfully pull it off.

Some of their other releases aren't quite as different from the two releases mentioned above, but I still notice each release has a slightly different sound. Their 1995 12", Kiosk reminds me much more of mathy bands such as Maximillian Colby or some Japanese bands like Nine Days Wonder. Their 7" Unvollkommenheit leans more into early metalcore territory and has a different vocalist/vocal style.

You get the idea, Dawnbreed has the capacity to play a wide variety of styles of hardcore which I find very interesting. There is something for everyone in their discography, I guarantee you'll like at least one of their releases if you're into the broad genre of "hardcore".

Discography

Mine / Dawnbreed split 7"

Plot Compilation

Amoklaufgefühl 7" 1995 (Beyond Records)