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Dawn is the first work from Helios, and as it's only a demo EP, there is very little to compare it to. On the plus side, the EP is a full eight songs long, so it's got enough stuff to make a pretty good judgement of where Helios is trying to position themselves. As I mentioned earlier, Helios is very German in style, and fits nicely alongside groups such as Wolfsheim or De/Vision that also go in for that dark German sound. They have the type of atmosphere that very early synthpopers tried to capture. Although some synthpop groups have moved on into other areas and other moods, I still relate particularly to this style, so that is an immediate plus for me on this EP. The EP starts off with "Not In You Anymore" which has a strongly retro feel to it, more like the Swedish scene than the German one, really. It is quite danceable and has nicely dark lyrics. "And It Was Good?" is next, a slower song with some samples from some preachers reading sections of the bible. In general, I don't like slower songs as much as danceable ones, unless they're extremely good. This is decent, but not extremely good. But Helios picks up the pace a bit for "Safe In Your Arms" which has overtones of the classic Kraftwerk "Metal on Metal." In fact, it sounds as if Helios spends part of their recording time in a Volkswagon factory banging on metal fixtures with large wrenches, but the result is pleasantly agressive and dark. "Changes" is more melancholy and depressed than agressive, and like the other slow song "And It Was Good?" it does a decent enough job but doesn't thoroughly impress me. The next two songs very definately do, though, and are my favorites on the cd. "She Dreams Away" is a very accessible dance song, much more in line with the German scene than "Not In You Anymore." It does sounds agressive and hostile, with excellent synth work. The same holds true for "Did Fade" which features absolutely beautiful sweeping synth sounds and beat that verges on dancey at times, and probably the most dark atmosphere of any on the cd. "Der Blaue Schein" is also danceable, but unlike the other dance tracks, it's a little more forgettable, and the last song, "Dawn" is a slow, atmospheric piece. It seems slow songs aren't really Helios' strength. Like other slow songs here, it is good, but isn't good enough to really impress me in a big way.
Overall, this is a very strong debut EP, slating itself quite firmly in the German dark synthpop scene along with fellow countrymen De/Vision, Wolfsheim or others. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would love to see some remixes sometime (particulrly of "She Dreams Away") as well as a full length album.
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