Daylight Dies - A Frail Becoming

Not being familiar with Daylight Dies, I figured I'd give their new album a shot at listening to and reviewing. This unfamiliarity also means I'm not able come up with an interesting introduction, so here's some facts: A small amount of research leads me to the conclusion that they're a melodic death metal/doom metal band from North Carolina. A Frail Becoming is their 4th studio full-length, 3rd for Candelight Records, and is due to drop on October 9th, 2012.

The fact that Daylight Dies formed in 1996 leads me to believe that they have generated a good dose of staying power over the last 16 years. The first listen through the record gives insight as to why they've been able to keep putting out pretty genre-specific material for such a period of time. The first riff of "Infidel" comes in, interrupting an unsettling arpeggiated chord. The tempo is pretty much set for the record here-nothing too quick, but not too sludgy and slow either. A nice-mid pace is established, along with an evil groovy riff. The chorus however, is incredibly melodic, along with a fair share of layered guitars to let the melody shine. The first solo we're introduced to again showcases the lead work on the album: you can tell these guys have chops, but for the most part they lay back and choose what notes really fit, which is something I appreciate and respect. Vocally, you have your standard low-pitched growl-for now.

"The Pale Approach" and "Dreaming of Breathing follow in pretty similar fashion with a groovy verse passage and a much more melodic and hooky chorus and solos. These solo sections seem to be a little lengthier, which will probably deter some of the low-attention-spanned. However, from a songwriting perspective none of the solos on the record really seem to be unnecessarily long or monotonous. The synth plays a bigger part on these tracks, as it gives a creepier atmosphere to the already tense and eerie music.

"Sunset," "Final Vestige," and "Ghosting" all feature "clean" vocals or actual singing. This definitely expands their possibilites and dynamic range. It is a perfect way to start out soft, with clean guitars and singing, into a more intense distorted passage, drums and bass thundering, right back into the death metal vocals. They definitely capitalized on this aspect. "Ghosting" suprisingly only has singing-the second part of the song is more or less a few guitar solos, although quite memorable.

For me, this is where the album kind of started to fall off the tracks. "Hold On To Nothing" is what you've come to expect from these guys listening to this album-but unfortunately it's at an painfully slow pace. Perhaps this adds to the 'doomy' side of their sound, but it doesn't cut it for me. "Water's Edge" is a cool little ambient interlude, but not altogether vital to the album. "An Heir To Emptiness" clocks in at 8:43, and is sure to lose the interest if you don't appreciate the songwriting and musicality of the band. That said, this is the "epic" if you will, a great closer to the album but again, pretty slow-paced and maybe could've been shortened by a bit. It showcases all the things that you've come to enjoy from this album in one song.

Overall, this is a great album and a good example of an American band sounding like it would be just as at home in Sweden or the UK as it is here. Even those who aren't fans of any type of the million sub-genres of death metal, give this a shot. It's much more accessible than something like Cannibal Corpse or Autopsy; I believe it contains something any fan of extreme music would enjoy.

Home Follow on Twitter! Like on Facebook!