Piano Black – The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Piano Black
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Out: 30^th November 2025
Playing time: 01:06:20

On Piano Black’s 2020 EP ‘…Of Bygone Days’, the two protagonists – Mario Stojčić (guitar) and Ana Marija Dundović (vocals) – still needed the support of three guest musicians. 2020 was also the year the band was founded. Piano Black is now a quartet. What has remained is their preference for Symphonic Metal. This can be heard on their debut album ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’. The album was produced by Sebastian ‘Seeb’ Levermann (Orden Ogan). That should actually be a guarantee for a high-quality album.

The album kicks off with the thirty-second intro ‘All Men Dream’. Bells and spoken words can be heard. But it’s ‘Northern Sons’ that really gets things going. In keeping with the genre, there are sophisticated orchestrations, but also hard drums, while the guitars are not so much in the foreground. Ana Marija Dundović’s operatic soprano is clearly audible here. In ‘Higher’, the guitars push further to the fore, but the clear soprano remains dominant, here in a duet with one of her male colleagues. And not consistently so; in places, the singer’s voice also sounds a little harsher. In addition to a few short guitar solos, we also hear a longer, very melodic one. ‘I Sit Beside The Fire And Think’, characterised by hard riffs, also has a fast tempo, driven by drummer John Howell. Of course, there is also a lot of epicness and polyphonic singing. Then Piano Black takes their foot off the gas pedal a little. Although, the drums drive the song forward again later on. ‘The Man Who Killed God’ is characterised by hard riffs. This is contrasted later by a quiet section, initially dominated by piano, with an epic chorus. And it is precisely this variety that gives this song its flavour. In contrast, ‘King Of The Mark’ swings into high speed territory. This is ensured by double bass, guitars and fast orchestration. The male vocals sound quite harsh at times. Ana Marija Dundović occasionally soars to the highest pitches, alternating with slightly raspy vocals. After the bombastic string introduction, ‘The Pagan March’ features powerful guitar melodies followed by ‘hu-ha’ chants. The female vocalist contributes high coloratura. Towards the end, both are also heard as a ‘duet’. This is more of a paraverbal interlude before the epic Metal anthem ‘Prometheus’. Here, too, spoken words, some of which sound harsh, can be heard, as well as discreetly used growls. ‘Grave Unknown’ follows as another anthem. The crystal-clear soprano dominates once again. But Ana also masters the slightly lower notes. ‘Pride Of War’ is another very melodic song with epic choruses. There are also repeated evil growls. The almost eleven-minute-long monumental epic ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ is probably the highlight. And rightly so, as it is the title song. Multi-layered, it has a slightly progressive edge. The vocals are often unusually rock-oriented and showcase Ana Marija Dundović’s vocal versatility. There are also enchanting coloraturas, but also slightly off-key vocals. The album concludes with the contemplative ballad ‘The Staves I Never Wrote’. The spoken words that can be heard throughout the entire playing time are accompanied by piano and strings.

What Piano Black already hinted at on ‘…Of Bygone Days’ is consistently continued on ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’. This is very well-crafted Symphonic Power Metal. Of course, the vocals of the classically trained opera soprano are clearly in the foreground. But her three bandmates provide powerful accompaniment, especially drummer John Howell and guitarist Mario Stojčić. Although I would have liked to hear a little more guitar. Not to mention bassist Paul Piszewski. And producer Seeb has ensured a clear, powerful sound.

Piano Black – Pride Of War: https://youtu.be/Ucp9tceFERs?si=rKp9rs-eKTnVZcxJ

Lineup:

Mario Stojčić – Guitars
Ana Marija Dundović – Vocals
John Howell – Drums
Paul Piszewski – Bass

Track list:

• All Men Dream
• Northern Sons
• Higher
• I Sit Beside The Fire And Think
• The Man Who Killed God
• King Of The Mark
• The Pagan March
• Prometheus
• Grave Unknown
• Pride Of War
• The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
• The Staves I Never Wrote