Dec 31 2023

2023 – A new rising sun

2023 has been a real milestone year for the band. 2022 had been a turbulent year and we left last year and entered this one uncertain of our future with the line-up no longer working, pared down to our original trio and to add to that, Charles wanting to take more of a back seat due to his impending fatherhood and the life adjustments that entails. Back in February things were looking quite bleak indeed.

However with an album in the works and a couple of gigs in the calendar, the one thing we were sure of is that it wasn’t time to hang the towel up just yet. We approached our friends Nige Mason and Gordon Wilkinson and asked if they’d be interested in helping out, primarily for the scheduled appearance at the Manorfest metal festival.

However, after a number of meetings and rehearsals, it became apparent that this would become a more permanent arrangement much to our delight. There was a renewed energy and vitality in the band and very quickly we bonded into a very tight unit both personally and musically.

In the early spring we worked hard to get our set together. In order that we populate YouTube with footage which is representative of the new unit, we did some live video work in mid May with our friends Andy Barker and Mark Brookes recording video and audio respectively. Unfortunately, this has yet to see the light of day for a variety of reasons. We also embarked on an ambitious sci-fi movie short to accompany one of our new songs in partnership with Daryl Parson from Heathenstorm Productions. The complexity of the project and his other commitments throughout the year have led to delays in its progress. We have seen some of the work in progress and we can promise you it will be worth the wait! At the time of writing, there is various mobile phone gig footage on YouTube but nothing we’ve recorded to a professional standard as yet. We’re aiming to rectify this in early 2024.

The first gig was in May and rather fittingly the event was called “ReVamped”, which was part of a Dracula weekend programme of events organised by Goth City Promotions. To date this has been our only appearance as the full 5-piece. Sadly the Manorfest event did not take place but further events started being added to the calendar. Throughout the year we played a number of gigs and they have been some of our most strongest sets ever. There has been a real buzz. Since the early summer gigs, we have learned a lot and really streamlined what was quite a complex stage setup into something more manageable as well as refining our parts.

The “The Mandela Effect” album was given a full overhaul with Gordon and Nige recording their own parts, myself reworking and re-recording all of the vocals (sometimes many times) as I found my voice. My studio has seen some significant upgrades and I’m really getting into a groove with the mixing side of things. It’s a steep learning curve and I’ve much to learn but I have had some very helpful advisors along the way. The whole thing has been completely transformed into something we feel is really special and we hope to deliver it to you in March 2024. It will have been 4 years in the making and by far our biggest project yet.

The beginning of 2024 will be a very busy one as we finish the recording and mixing of the album. Although great progress has been made, there is still a lot to complete in a short amount of time. We’ve been in discussions with the legendary Gordon Young about the mastering of it and we’re very much looking forward to hearing what magic he can work.

Our first gig date sees us return to Carpe Noctum on 2nd March after what will be 5 years and we’re hoping this will be the album launch event. In preparation, we’ll be bolstering our live set accordingly, some of which we’ve never played live before.

We’re also planning to embark on another video project which should hopefully come with a much faster turnaround. The finer details have yet to be discussed and ironed out but we have an idea of what we want.

Once the album and videos are ready, we’ll be increasing the effort to promote them and play more live dates.

After the album is out, we’ll also be beginning the journey of writing some brand new material together which we’re all very much looking forward to.

From all of us, we like to thank all of the venues, promoters, awesome sound engineers and most importantly all of the people who have been along to the gigs in 2023, without whom we couldn’t do our thing. Also massive thanks to Kurt Wood at Cornerhouse Studios and Brian and Tracey Leach at Jam on Top Studios for helping us to create our thing. We love you guys 🙂

Happy new year to all of you and all the best for 2024!

See you at the next gig 🙂

Apr 22 2023

A New Dawn

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that the band has undergone a rather special line-up change as we’ve been joined on an ongoing basis by legends Nige Mason and Gordon Wilkinson!

The line-up now comprises:

Alec Marlow – lead vocals, guitar
Nige Mason – guitar, backing vocals
Emma Marlow – bass, backing vocals
Charles Shelley – keyboards
Gordon Wilkinson – drums

We can confirm that it sounds MASSIVE!!

The first quarter of 2023 has seen the band experience somewhat of a rollercoaster ride.

The new year found us in a very uncertain place emotionally following a particularly challenging period at the back end of 2022. This was only exacerbated by the departure of Izak towards the end of January, with the band reverting to its pre-2019 core 3-piece. For all there was far too much unfinished business to consider calling time, morale was at an all time low and it was unclear how we might continue.

We got together as a 3-piece just to do something to kick the new year off, whereupon we went through material older and newer. It was very shaky and it was felt that the music had evolved so much in the intervening years, that at the very least the introduction of a second guitar was the way forward, even if just to bolster the sound in a live setting.

However due to an element of growing external personal commitments, this was complicated by the need to take the foot off the gas in terms of regular rehearsal time. We were therefore unsure as to how the addition of anyone new might pan out. There were some gigs in the diary which were rationalised down to the two May dates (as were), to give us some time to figure things out.

Following discussions, there was no appetite within the band whatsoever for finding a replacement vocalist, be they female or male. In any case, as a singer I really wanted to find my voice again and return to the lead vocal position. I took to the studio and began to work through the recordings, finding my place in the songs and making them my own. For all that I had written the lyrics, I hadn’t properly performed some of them before. It was a liberating experience having the mental space to be able to do that and my confidence began to return.

I contacted our friend and much respected musician Nige Mason to ask if he might be interested in helping us out, playing guitar in particular for the planned Manorfest set. We had played a number of times with his band Hollow Earth and he was a fan of our music. He was interested but had not played in a band with a full drums-laden backing track before and had some concerns. At this point it was suggested that we could ask Gordon Wilkinson (also of Hollow Earth / Ironrat / Lazarus Blackstar) if he might be interested in playing live drums. Gordon had already played drums on our forthcoming single and had shown an interest in playing more. Nige asked him, he very quickly accepted and a meeting was called so we could iron out logistics (which were not inconsiderable).

Following the meeting, the original remit was for the lads to primarily help us out live for the Manorfest appearance but the more we got together and the more we talked and planned, it became evident that this was the beginning of a very special and exciting chapter. Everyone was bang up for it, on the same page and this was cemented further when we all got together to play. And so very quickly and naturally 3 plus 2 became 5.

Unfortunately, the Manorfest festival was cancelled not long after that and whilst this was disappointing, had it not been taking place in the first place, we would not have ended up where we are. In this case, it is very easy for us to take the positive out of the negative.

Our first appearance will be at the 1 in 12 club on Saturday 20th May supporting Rome Burns and Inkubus Sukkubus.

It’s our intention to proceed with this line-up / configuration going forward for all activities.

Dec 19 2022

Turn and face the strain

The single constant most dependable thing in life is change. Some fear it, some hate it, yet we all must face it. And you can’t fight it.

2022 has seen the band enter its second decade of existence. During the first ten years, we experienced a number of changes and chapters, both within the band and externally. We’ve had good times and bad and people have come and gone. The last 3-4 years in particular saw us go from a 3-piece to 4 to 5 and in the last 18 months, a different 5. The band dynamic has changed considerably over time and also I’d like to think the sound has become more sophisticated. Different ideas and approaches have been tried. Some have worked and some not so much. Although enjoyable, it has at some points in recent times felt creatively inconsistent.

Since embarking on the “The Mandela Effect” album project in 2019, a break and line-up change during the pandemic and attempting to get match fit again in 2021, there has been a large element of playing catch-up with material that was already there. It has seemed like a very long time since we composed anything brand new as a band and certainly with the latest line-up this has never happened.

This year has proven especially challenging for some of us for various reasons and what should’ve been a wholly fun and enjoyable landmark year for us was much more of a struggle than anticipated. Despite a reasonably productive year for live work and decent progress having been made on the album, towards the end of the year the ship was not running as desired.

Keeping busy is often a great distraction from addressing things which need addressing and it can be all too convenient to hide behind the “see how it goes” mantra. In a band dynamic which involves very close friendships and relationships, problems can be difficult to navigate and compartmentalise to the point of discouragement. Before long, something which is supposed to provide you with a sanctuary from life’s problems becomes something which is not that.

It was a long overdue time for us to “turn and face the strain” and address all of the above.

After some discussion, it was decided that the last two gigs of the year were to be our last under the current regime and with the current line-up. Unfortunately, ill health dictated that the last appearance, due to take place in Sheffield on 17th December would not be possible and so the Keighley gig on the 10th was to be the last.

And so, after almost three and a half years, Kaz Buxton is leaving the fold. The band would like to thank Kaz for her work and everything she has brought in that time and we wish her luck for future projects. Kaz leaves to pursue her ongoing band Echofire and her role in local rock covers band Whiskey Shed.

As for the rest of us, the plan is to enter 2023 with a blank page and a fresh resolve. Much is yet to be determined but in the short term, we all agree that there is a very real need to take the pressure off and get back to what we really enjoy doing, which is creating new music at our own pace with no other agenda.

We have some live dates in the calendar for later in the year, which we will of course look forward to playing and whilst opportunities will be considered if offered, we will not be actively seeking them for the foreseeable future. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of filling the calendar to the point where rehearsals and gigs take over the creative process.

Work on The Mandela Effect album will continue in the background as an almost parallel process, the rest of the band members having mostly recorded their parts anyway.

More news on all of this as it takes shape next year.

We’d like to thank from the bottom of our hearts all of the bands, promoters and everyone who has been out to watch us and help us celebrate our first ten years this year.

Have a wonderful festive period and all the best for 2023. See you on the other side!

Cheers!

Alec, Emma, Charles, Kaz and Izak

Jun 22 2022

Shadow of the Castle – CANCELLED

It is with very heavy heart that we inform you that the “Shadow of the Castle” festival in Scarborough which was scheduled for this coming weekend has been cancelled. The owners of the venue closed the place and the promoters were informed just yesterday with only four days notice. Many apologies for anyone who had planned to travel.

To say we are gutted is an understatement. Of course we cherish every gig opportunity and bit of support we get but Scarborough and the Resurrection team hold a special place in our heart. I’d like to extend on behalf of the band our love and support for them at this difficult time. I know how much hard work and love went into planning this festival in spite of some very challenging times for them personally. If there is anything we can do as a band to help then please do not hesitate to let us know.

At least in part, the band will be in Scarborough for the weekend regardless. The digs are booked, the weather is great and there is beer to be drunk. We’d rather have been playing but we can at least try and enjoy ourselves.

Our next appearance is the rescheduled, rescheduled “Twisted Firestarter #2” Infest warm-up night at Bradford’s Nightrain on Thurs 25th August.

Feb 3 2022

NEW RELEASE: “Storm” single 04/02/22

We are super excited to release our brand new single “Storm”.

Storm is the first song to feature our new line-up with the talents of Izak Gloom on guitar. It’s a song that we’ve had kicking about for a few years, originally composed around the time we were writing songs for “Raven“. It was never quite finished and it didn’t really fit in at the time. With the added input of Kaz and Izak, we feel that is very much not the case now. It’s a barnstormer of a song! We hope you enjoy it.

As with every online single release, we’ve included a b-side, this time a total rework/remix of the title track from the “Time and Tide” album. This has been a few years in the making. The original piece was an atmospheric instrumental, written in the studio in one session, almost a last minute thing really. Our friend Phil Sibson (aka Bad Disciple) loved it and heard something completely different in it. He came back to us with a completely new recording of it with a different vibe. I loved it and it inspired me to write some lyrics, which I did and then recorded some vocals. It kind of got left for a while after that as something didn’t quite click. Phil’s version, brilliant as it was, did not retain any of the original instrumentation which I wanted to keep and play with. I kept poking at it periodically and eventually decided to completely redo it, keeping much of the original instrumentation but adopting the vibe of Phil’s version. I asked goth extraordinaire Lee Meadows (aka Batboy Slim) if he’d like to get involved with the drum track in order to get a fresh pair of ears and a different vibe on the job. As always, he did a sterling job. I love working with Lee. We have come up with something I am really proud of. It certainly offers quite a contrast to the a-side, kind of the calm after the storm. This version is called “Time and Tide (again)”. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed creating it.

“Storm” is available from all good digital outlets from 4th February, 2022

Dec 24 2021

Decade of Elysium

2022 will be a milestone year for us as we celebrate ten years of the band’s existence. It seems like an appropriate time to take a look back at its origins and journey so far …

The seeds of what came to be Dawn of Elysium were originally sown at the back end of 2011, the exact date being 2nd December in fact. It was a night at the long defunct infamous Gasworks rock club in Bradford, which was hosting the Carpe Noctum goth night. Bands playing were Alice Moving Under Skies and Rhombus, both of which delivered fantastic sets.

Carpe Noctum’s promoter Howard and I had been friends for a few years by that point, having been on the same team running events at previous venues in town. I had been to a fair few of his events before that. Whilst I had a modicum of awareness and always liked what I heard (Howard has always been an impeccable curator of events), I had hitherto not really taken the time to appreciate the bands quite as much as on this particular night. Gothic rock had been a profound influence on my formative years and has always played some part in the music I create. However on a social level, I had never really been a part of or known many people that were a part of that scene. In the years that followed this night, that would change.

Emma and I had not been together for long. We were both in bands. Emma played in Action Directe and the then embryonic Quasimodo and I had post-punk project Suicide By Cop. After watching the bands that night, we concluded that it might be cool for us to do something together. Throughout the month of December, various conversations were had down the pub and by the end of the year, we had our first line-up “on paper”. It was the start of our journey, although there were to be a few stumbles along the way.

Rehearsals commenced on 15th January 2012. In attendance were Emma and myself on bass and guitar respectively, Paul “Punky” Brannan on vocals, Paul Stefan-Gill on guitar and Phil Holroyd on drums. The band was originally to be called “The Wraith”. However, that incarnation was not destined to be. None of us had played together before and there were personality clashes aplenty almost from the off. It was a manic and overwhelming time and by the March, the two Pauls had parted company with the rest of us, taking the name with them.

“The Wraith”, January 2011 (from left to right) Paul Stefan-Gill, Emma Marlow (Hedley as was), Alec Marlow, Paul “Punky” Brannan, Phil Holroyd

They briefly continued playing together some time later under the moniker “The Wraith Within” as a studio project with a view to getting a live band together but it never really came to anything. It was on the whole a very brief formation, split and two rival faction scenario. I guess that rendered that particular Spinal Tap-esque “goth band” box ticked very early on in the story. In reality, things ended up being fairly amicable and although we haven’t seen much of each other since, ultimately friendships remained intact. Nothing to see here. Not even on a subliminal level.

Meanwhile, we decided upon the name “Dawn of Elysium” and the band was rebooted. Over the course of the spring and summer, the remaining three of us plugged away at getting a sound together. It was primitive, it was basic but it was ours. Our first appearance in front of people was on 8th September 2012, where we played a short set at the Black Swan pub for a friend’s birthday. It was a brief, casual and unadvertised affair so we never really considered it to be our first proper gig. I also felt that there was something missing from our sound. This was to be rectified shortly after.

In attendance that night was keyboardist Charles Shelley, whom we had contacted just prior to the gig about the possibility of joining the band. He liked what he heard and we immediately became good friends. Charles joined the band on 12th September the following week and we quickly set about recording what was to be our first EP “Sense of Belonging”. Throughout the autumn, we played our first bona fide gigs and completed the EP.

We started 2013 in earnest, continuing to write and rehearse. However, it became evident by the February that being in a band wasn’t really for Phil and so we parted ways. We took the decision to proceed as a three piece without a live drummer and really this marked the end of the beginning.

In the six years or so between March 2013 and December 2018, we continued just the three of us, playing anywhere and everywhere that would have us. We self-recorded and released our first album “Time and Tide” and published a bunch of songs online. It had been a great ride but towards the end of 2018, we started to feel like we were running out of steam, both creatively and motivationally. It was time for change and in the year to follow, that’s exactly what happened.

In 2019 we released “Raven”, our second album and expanded the line-up to four (enter Tim Furze on guitar) and later five (enter Kaz Buxton on vocal). This enhanced the live sound exponentially. During this time, a number of the older songs were left behind in favour of newer material as the band evolved. More gigs were played further afield than before and there was a real feeling of optimism and momentum.

However, the pandemic of 2020 arrived and brought many challenges to bands and musicians the world over. Despite a great live start and a string of releases throughout the year, Dawn of Elysium was no exception. Unfortunately, just before the band was about to reconvene after a period of separation, Tim decided that he no longer felt able to continue with the band. This was in April 2021.

In the weeks to follow, Izak Gloom joined the fold, incorporating a very different guitar style to the overall sound. Consequently, it was necessary to take a step back and set about reworking material old and new to accomodate. We eventually played our first gig with this line-up in October 2021. Since then, we have been working on the recording of our brand new single “Storm”, which is due for release in early 2022. Work also continues on our third album “The Mandela Effect”, which we hope to release later in 2022.

The band as it sounds today is a world away from that of 2012 and we are even in a very different chapter than that of the 2013-2018 “Trio” years. We’re already starting to put together plans for a few gigs next year to celebrate this ten year milestone.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the support we have received over the years and we’re looking forward to seeing in 2022 with a bang!

Have a wonderful festive period and hope you all have a very happy new year.

Love,

Alec, Emma, Kaz, Izak, and Charles.

Aug 11 2021

Twisted Firestarter postponed for another year

We regret to announce that our planned performance on 27th August will not be taking place as anticipated. However all is not lost, the Twisted Firestarter (Infest warm-up) event has been postponed and will now take place on Thursday 25th August 2022.

Originally set to take place in 2020, this event had already been postponed once due to the pandemic and whilst live music is cautiously opening back up again and some form of the festival will be taking place, the Infest team felt that this year was not the right time to revert back to a full blown weekend. These are difficult decisions for festivals to make right now. We would like to extend our gratitude and support to the organisers of the event and rest assured, we will be raring to go next year.

We’d also like to thank the Nightrain for their excellent communication and understanding following the postponement and we are very much looking forward to playing our debut at the venue on 30th October as support to the excellent Syteria.

We are just a month into rehearsing together with our new line-up and whilst we were feeling “match fit” to play a solid Dawn of Elysium set, we do welcome the opportunity to spend some more time introducing new material and getting the evolving sound more together before bringing this version of the band to a stage. We are also continuing work on the next album and are really excited at the way it is coming together.

Message ends ……

Apr 6 2021

Farewell Tim

This last year has presented a multitude of challenges for many people and bands and unfortunately, Dawn of Elysium has been no exception.

It is with heavy heart that we say goodbye to Tim Furze who had been with the band since the beginning of 2019. Along with Kaz, Tim has been instrumental in helping further evolve the band’s sound throughout the past couple of years and his contributions will be very much remembered and respected.

It would not be proper to go into the particulars of his decision, suffice to say that it was not one which was easily reached. The band as a whole will continue to support him. We all hold a great deal of affection for him and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.

2022 will mark the band’s tenth anniversary and we are hoping to celebrate the occasion with some kind of event. We hope that Tim will be in some way involved.

For now though, both parties must move on, more news of which later.

See you at the bar Tim, we love you buddy!

Thanks to the many talented photographers for capturing Tim in action so splendidly.

Dec 18 2020

NEW RELEASE: Far From Home single – 18/12/20

We are very excited to present our third and final release of the year “Far From Home”.

In contrast with our previous release “Driftwood“, “Far From Home” sees us return to our darker, heavier progressive goth sound. The a-side “Gravity (far from home)” is a full remix of the track “Gravity” from the “R aven” album with added vocals.

The song was originally written back in 2005 for a previous band and has always had lyrics but with the exception of the opening section, Dawn of Elysium played it as an instrumental piece. This worked rather well for a time but when Kaz joined the band and added her vocals to it, something magical happened and despite having not that long since recorded and released it, we felt it was well worth a revisit. We hope you enjoy what we’ve done with it.

The b-side is a cover of Sisters of Mercy’s “Poison Door”. After finishing the work on the acoustic / orchestral and very serious vibe of Driftwood, we felt it was necessary to redress the balance somewhat, return to our goth roots and have some fun in the process whilst not having to think too much about composition. Poison Door is a song I have loved for many years and have secretly wanted to play it for ages so we thought – why not? Yes we’re probably breaking some goth convention somewhere and have probably raised a sneer or two from the “too cool for school” brigade but we’d like to think we have made it our own and in our defence we’ve not picked an obvious one. Have listen, we hope you like it and that you listen to it in the fun spirit with which it was recorded.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Alec, Emma, Charles, Kaz and Tim

Nov 8 2020

NEW RELEASE: Driftwood EP – 13/11/20

We are very pleased to announce the release of our latest EP “Driftwood”.

Somewhat of an excursion for Dawn of Elysium in a couple of ways, the idea for releasing Driftwood was born from the acoustic performance we did for Alastair Appleby as covered in our previous article. Of the four tracks performed on that day, we took those versions of “Why Now? Why Me?” and “Lost And Found” into the studio and developed them further, adding orchestration and piano to each.

Sandwiched between the two is a song from our forthcoming album “The Mandela Effect”. More news of which later.

Somewhat of an oddity in itself, “Ghost in the Machine” was started off with the intentions of becoming a bridging piece on the album but it evolved into something more substantial. We are very pleased to announce that the song has been adopted for inclusion in a forthcoming film called “Scarred Evolution” and we thought it would be a good opportunity to release it in its current form, hence the title “Ghost in the Machine (Scarred Evolution)”. The track’s journey has not yet finished and the version on the album will likely be different but it gives a taste of the kind of vibe to expect. In contrast to the acoustic/orchestral vibe of the other two songs, “Ghost in the Machine” explores our more progressive influences to a greater degree than previous work.

The EP releases on Friday 13th November and will be available from all good digital outlets. A physical CD release will follow, more news on that later.

Driftwood is dedicated to Alastair and was recorded as a thank you for all of the support he has given us throughout the years.