Daylight Dies | ‘Lost To The Living’

Quiz most Irish Metallers on what the name Daylight Dies means to them and more than likely you’ll get a few of the more seasoned specimens reminiscing back to when they supported Katatonia, on their much cherished visit to these shores back in 2003. Ask those same people what Daylight Dies sound like, and chances are you’re going to hear that same name again. So the story goes with the Americans, who’ve built a reputation for solid, tuneful but somewhat undaring albums over the last few years. The question is if they’re finally going to buck the trend and dazzle on ‘Lost to the Living’ with some tunes that step outside of the shadows of their musical forefathers.

Don’t hold your breath seems to be the resounding response. Opener ‘Cathedral’ does very well for itself, resting on a warm and captivating mid section that recalls Alcest’s fluid bliss in fine form, but it ends in clunky fashion. There is a sense of it wearing itself out, when a quick and confident blast is what’s needed to put the listener at ease. Following this early stand-out, things start to fall into a familiar rut. ‘And A Slow Surrender’ doesn’t exactly set the world on fire, sounding much longer than it’s short enough five minutes through some fairly sub-standard, drawn out lead sections. Attention is wandering at this stage already.

One thing that certainly stands up for them is the production. With weight and depth aplenty, they couldn’t have done a better job on the sound quality. The guitars crash richly and the leads cut perfectly through. However, Nathan Ellis’ vocals, while strong, are spotlighted by this sound in their lack of range, even when he switches to an acceptable velvety croon on ‘Last Alone’. The guitars seem to be trying to making up for this with riff after riff, which while not exactly bad sounding, is exposed as a poor substitute for some serious presence and real venom on the heavy ‘kills front.

Moments of quick skill on the guitars and some solid efforts on the melody front certainly prevent ‘Lost to the Living’ from becoming a drag, but the truth is that as a group, they’re still riding high in the upper levels of average. Melodic Death/Doom at its most acceptable.

3.0 / 5 - Lorcan Archer ::: 18/08/08