Daylight Dies' MySpace page describes the band as "Dark, Desperate and Melancholic Metal." That's an apt description of Lost To The Living. It's dark, doomy and gloomy. That doesn't mean the songs are all slow and plodding. Daylight Dies plays many of the songs at a medium or fast tempo, although there are some slower moments as well.
The songs are fairly lengthy, with most clocking it at the 5 to 8 minute range. Daylight Dies does a good job varying their musical intensities, ranging from sparse and mellow acoustic guitars to dense and aggressive walls of sound. Most of the tracks have long instrumental passages with intricate arrangements and skillful musicianship.
Most of the vocals are harsh growls from Nathan Ellis. He has a gritty voice that suits the melancholy atmosphere of the album. A couple of songs also feature melodic vocals from bassist Egan O'Rourke. He does a nice job, and it will be interesting to hear if they incorporate more melodic vocals into future releases. I wasn't as blown away by Lost To The Living as I was their last CD, but it is a more focused and mature release and is consistently good.
(released June 24, 2008 on Candlelight Records)
