Life Toward Twilight- We Waited for a Subtle Dawn

Artist: Life Toward Twilight
CD Title: We Waited For A Subtle Dawn
Label: Self-released
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 9-25-06

Much of the material on this album was originally recorded two years ago, but Life Toward Twilight composer Daniel Tuttle has re-released it with additional material after a long hiatus, during which he cared for his fiancée, who was dying of cancer. Given the circumstances behind this release, it's immediately striking how unsentimental even the new material is. Rather than focusing on emotional reactions, Tuttle's work seems to be a meditation on mortality itself, replete with clashing cymbals, martial drumbeats, and orchestral strings that call to mind the Darwinian hymns of Boyd Rice and Albin Julius. Though there are quieter moments, like the operatic vocal interludes of "Eclipse II" or the lovely nocturnal soundscape of "'Time,' She Says," these softer elements are ultimately overwhelmed by the clashing steel and industrial clatter of "This Peculiar Phenomenon," the thunderous timpani of "Might And Wrath," and the and the dark bombast of "'Time,' She Points Again." Even "Nightmares Away From The Moon," which begins so subtly with distant conversations and eerie, languid pianos, eventually builds into a cacophonous crescendo, this time conjuring a grim Oriental exoticism with wailing Tibetan horns. Perhaps the future will see Tuttle exploring grief and melancholy, but the militaristic ambiance of this release seems starkly unforgiving of such sentiments. In any case, this work is grandiose in its coldness, and fans of such acts as Desiderii Marginis have no excuse not to check it out now that Tuttle has made the entire album available as a free download from the Life Toward Twilight website.

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