Dusk

A product of Wisconsin's harsh winter climate is Dusk. Six months of overcast, sub-zero weather tends to bring out feelings of hopelessness. Dusk has chosen to channel these emotions into musical form. Mood, atmosphere, and a sense of "groove" are combined into a mournful, aural experience.
“Back in the early ‘90s, the North American death-doom scene was neither diverse nor rich. The bands that made this music in this period can be counted on one hand, but the first among them would be Avernus, Morgion, Winter and Dusk” -NO CLEAN SINGING, 2024.
Dusk was formed in January 1993 by guitarists Steve Gross and Tim Beyer. Fed up with the stale attempts infecting the death metal genre, Steve and Tim set out to create something fresh. The line-up was completed with Shimron Heemstra on drums and bassist/vocalist Steve Crane joining later that year. The band recorded the original self-titled debut demo "Dusk" at Simple Studios with Eric James engineering. It was released in early 1994 and was very well received throughout the underground, sparking a worldwide licensing deal with Cyber Music in Holland later that year and also a distribution deal with Relapse Records.
In January 1995, Dusk went back to Simple Studios to record "Majestic Thou in Ruin" which has been considered as one of the top Death/Doom albums of all time still to this day.
Later, in 1995 Dusk performed around the midwest and also played Milwaukee Metal Mania 9.
In 1996, Steve Crane left the band for personal reasons. The band recruited Chad Denslow on vocals and Keith Powers on bass to try and fill the void. Dusk did record some final material in 1997; the track "Yearning for Eternity" was used for “Visionaries of the Macabre Volume 1” in 1998; however, Dusk went on hiatus later that year. Lost Disciple Records approached the band to rerelease the original demo "Dusk" and "Majestic thou in Ruin" on one CD called "Mourning Resurrect" which was released in 2002. In 2004, Cursed Productions released the unreleased tracks titled "The Slumber" as a split with Aphotic.
In 2015, the original line up was back together and began rehearsing for future shows. At that time, Dark Symphonies/The Crypt Records approached the band and agreed to release "Dusk"/"Majestic Thou Ruin" on CD and double vinyl which really helped spread the word that Dusk was officially back. Dana Ignarski was recruited by the band to sing "The Transfiguration" for live shows and to add atmospheric female vocals to future material that was being written. Their first show back was a sold out show in Milwaukee with Amorphis and Swallow the Sun in March 2017. Shortly after a hometown Green Bay show, Shimron informed the band that he was leaving for personal reasons and Sean Smith joined as Dusk's new drummer. In May 2018 the band was honored to be invited to play Maryland Deathfest XVI. The "Withdraw" EP was officially released by Dark Symphonies/The Crypt Records distributed by Dark Descent Records in September 2018. Dusk went on tour with the legendary death metal band Master on their "Vindictive Miscreant" tour the following summer.
In 2023 Dusk recorded their first full-length album in 28 years, including a video for the song "Beacon Obscured" to promote the upcoming release. “Dissolve Into Ash” was officially released in December 2023 on CD/vinyl through Dark Symphonies/The Crypt Records, Dark Descent Records, and on cassette through Dread Records. The music in this album is true to Dusk’s roots including morbid chugging riffs, harrowing laments with dark melodies and a rich seam of synth. Now Dana’s vocals are a permanent fixture of the band, saturating elegantly through the brutal passages of doom and heavy dirge.
In March 2024, Dusk will have their official hometown album release show in Green Bay. In May, Dusk played a special show with Spectral Voice in Milwaukee and also won the “Performer of the Year - HEAVY METAL” Wisconsin Area Music Industry WAMI Award. Dusk will be releasing for the first time both “Dusk” and “Majestic Thou In Ruin” separately on vinyl through Dark Symphonies/The Crypt Records distributed by Dark Descent Records sometime in the future. In May of 2025, Dusk will be making their second appearance for Maryland Death Fest XX and heading to Europe to play their first overseas festival KILL-TOWN DEATH FEST X in Copenhagen, Denmark in September along with small tours in the US to finish out the year.
Over the years, Dusk has had great pleasure playing with the following bands: Megadeth, Cannibal Corpse, Death, Cynic, Type O Negative, Voivod, Malevolent Creation, Six Feet Under, Sinister, Morgue, Afterlife, Gutted, Master, Broken Hope, Paralysis, Morbid Saint, Morta Skuld, Bleed/Crawl, Viogression, Amorphis, Swallow the Sun, Godflesh, Satyricon, Evoken, Broken Hope, The Ruins of Beverast, Kataklysm, Fear Factory, Spectral Voice and many more.