Customer Reviews

Dismantling Devotion

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I might be one of a small crowd who seriously misses the days of Katatonia's "Brave Murder Day" (nothing against the new Katatonia -- it's also great stuff). Daylight Dies has captured that dark, nostalgic vibe and made it even better with excellent production, more emphasis on harmonies and melodies, and none of that drum machine nonsense.

I hope these guys see some serious success after this release. They proved to be decent on the previous albums, but this one pushes them into one of the top "doom" bands out there.

One of the best new American death/doom metal bands out there, these guys came out of nowhere and have become one of my favorite new bands....playing a very dense, melodic, and melancholy brand of metal similiar in style to Opeth or Katatonia, Daylight Dies nonetheless inject a fresh and hypnotic density to their material that manages to make them sound like something new altogether.

Probably taking notes from Opeth, "Dismantling Devotion" is a dense, layered, and superbly produced epic of an album. The band alternates heavy, throbbing repetitive rifs and death metal vocals against beautiful ethereal classically-influenced clean tone guitar arrangements and guitar-driven harmonies and soft, lush vocals to great effect. Dark, foreboding and mournful lyrics accompany the music perfectly. Very compelling, mesmerizing and addictive stuff. I can't recommend this enough for fans of the genre, and can't wait to hear a new album.

I can't tell you how much this album had impacted my life. Yet another band that made a big difference in my life. Daylight Dies is purely dark, melancholic and beauty at the same time. The music crafted is extremely touching to my soul. I listen over and over and over again every single day. For the first time in my life I have found another band that had helped me in my time of need. The mixture of clean and harsh vocals adds to the overall sound of the band and gave it a dark evil gothic tone. I am currently in search of dark gothic metal music because of what I am going thru in my life. Dark and evil cultures gives me the power and strength to live my life stronger than ever. In addition to the vocals the composition and song writing from both guitar player for this incredible album instills the listener with enormous amount of emotions. I am an emotional person so this affected me tremendously in my daily life. I just don't know how they came up with such a melodic and yet melancholic guitar melodies. It sticks in my head and soul and gave me a boost everytime the songs are played. Daylight Dies is my savior!

All I have to say is "wow!" There's nothing better to describe this album as once again Daylight Dies prove that truly melodic music CAN mix w/ metal if it's done right. If you liked their previous effort 'No Reply,' then 'Dismantling Devotion' ranks right up there, maybe even above it! It's definitely heavier than 'No Reply,' and new vocalist Nathan Ellis fits in perfectly where Guthrie Iddings left off on the last recording. Great album; don't hesitate to check it out, even if you didn't get to hear the previous one. This is melodic doom/death metal at it's finest.

A genre primarily pioneered by the likes of Katatonia, Anathema, and Paradise Lost in the early 90s, slow yet melodic doom-death has been explored by a million bands in the following years, but very few of their releases have stood the test of time.

Daylight Dies' Dismantling Devotion is an exception. I don't even recall the last time I was so blown away by an album in this style. The reason this album stands out from the pack is not because of its groundbreaking nature. Rather, this album, to me, is one of the genre's best because it embodies the European doom metal akin to early Katatonia, October Tide, Rapture, and brings in the melodic sensibilites of other bands like early Amorphis, Novembre, and even Opeth. It is hard to believe this band is from the USA -- they're perhaps the only American band, along with Agalloch, that capture the essence of their respective genres while still succeeding in preserving their own character.

This is the band's highwater mark. It improves on their more doom-laden sound heard on No Reply, with a noticeable increase in the songwriting department. Without doubt, the improvement has a lot to do with the addition of new vocalist Nathan Ellis. His growls are monstrous and pain-ridden throughout the whole album. Besides relaying the melancholic lyrics, his singing also functions as an added layer to the music, as his timing and enunciation are perfect. Fans of the genre will be floored of his singing on "Dead Air," where he lays down deep, guttural growls atop threads of melodic guitar harmonies and a rather central bass figure. The only other American singer that I can think of is Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom, who is also great at portraying misery with his singing. Though the majority of the songs feature Ellis' death growls, bassist Egan O'Rourke provides some clean vocals, most notably in the intro of "Solitary Refinement" and the strong mood-setter, "A Life Less Lived." That said, his contribution is more so for contrast. You can check out the band's 2008 album, Lost to the Living, if you want to hear him do two full songs with clean vocals. Personally, I prefer Dismantling Devotion.

The guitar work is also fantastic. This is the album when guitarist Charlie Shackelford joined the band as a full-time member, and his presence lends the songs more depth. Generally, the songs are paced rather slowly but each one of them boasts certain passages where things pick up and offer unforgettable melodies at key points. The use of acoustic guitars is kept to a minimum -- they're mostly utilized in the intros briefly before mammoth guitars soar above them with churning riffage. The best song to enjoy the guitars is the instrumental title track, which also closes the album on a dirge-like note. There's not riff of nimiety on this one -- I wish there were more bands that professed the "less is more" principle.

The songs are extremely well produced thanks to Jens Bogren. I can see if some doom metal fans may find the mix a bit too clean, but then again Dismantling Devotion is not the sort of album that claims to be the epitome of doom metal, hence the reason why fans of Amorphis and Novembre as well as the more obscure yet equally amazing When Day Descends might want to look into this disc.

If you're looking for a great example of the early European doom metal movement with strong emphasis on melodic progressions, killer vocals, and momentous guitar work, you need this album.

I have to admit, I haven't been discovering new Metal artists nearly as much as I used to. But almost immediately upon hearing this solid, precise balance of melody, heaviness, atmosphere, and progression, I knew I had to own this album. I haven't felt this way since I first discovered my favorite metal bands around 2002 - namely Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, Agalloch, and Novembre. This album really has everything you'd want in a metal album. Everything from the riffs, the instrumental parts, the solos, the song structures, the general feel, the crisp production quality, and especially the vocals, are virtually perfect.

There is such a crystal-clear, fresh production on this album, not to mention the fine musicianship. Those melodic, yet merciless riffs just grind themselves right into your brain providing instant fulfillment to the listener and an unmistakable identity for the band's sound.

Here we also have some of the best growling vocals that I've heard in a while. Nathan Ellis provides deep, ominous, menacing bellows that will shatter your bones. I always considered the great Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth to be the best death metal vocalist, and I think Nathan is VERY close to being just as good as him. There is also a good mix of melodious, smooth clean vocals here for some variety. These are also extremely well done, by the same vocalist. "Solitary Refinement" is a great example of a song with nothing but clean vocals.

Some people may see the tag of "Doom Metal" and think oh, it's slow and boring. CERTAINLY NOT! This band, at least on this album absolutely melds the world of Doom and Death. They have a great variety of tempos in their songs, and they really are the perfect union between the two, not being "slow and boring" that people think of when they hear doom, and not being just super fast gory blastbeats that death metal is commonly associated with. Of course, if you love doom metal, or death metal, you will certainly find your cup of tea with this band. Daylight Dies does not bore the listener. The songs are always changing just enough to stay interesting, and have enough variety for that long-lasting appeal that will almost guarantee to satisfy the listener no matter what he is craving to hear.

"A Life Less Lived" is the song I heard that made me get this. Then there is that riff at the last minute of the song takes with it to fade out into oblivion, nicknamed by me "The Riff to Remember." This riff will make your skin melt, and give you a new appreciation of life and the universe. It will stick in your head for days and weeks, giving you the compelling need to keep listening to at least the song, if not the album. My only complaint is that it is too short. Seriously, they could have milked that riff for about 6 minutes and I wouldn't get tired of it.

The title track. "Dismantling Devotion" is 7 minutes of pure bliss. Many agree that this is possibly one of the best metal instrumental tracks in recent history. It kind of reminds me of Dark Tranquillity's "Ex Nihilo" in a way. It slowly fades out to leave the listener astonished, and wonderfully appreciative.

So, if you've heard all the hype about this band, or this album particularly, yeah - go ahead and believe the hype and get this as soon as possible. You won't regret it. It is one of my most worthwhile new discoveries in a long time, and I will be picking up the rest of their albums real fast.

Now I heard people having beef with this album and I don't see why...it is the more melodic of Daylight Dies but it still has that flavor of American based band who sounds European...it is worth buying if you're into doomish type metal and love melodics...

fantastic metal album. Their newer one "lost to the living" is even better. The vocals fit this music perfectly. If their was a classic "singing" singer, the music would be completely ruined. It's a more mellow type of growl here, thats not as intensly bellowed as a lot of other metal. That makes its appeal slightly easier for someone getting into this music or on the fence. Excellent guitar phrasing as well. Highly recommended. Much better than many bands who get alot more attention.

Dismantling Devotion is a very powerful and masterful doom metal album that strongly exemplifies the defining points of the genre. The music is powerful, sharp, and very clear and, unlike most doom metal, very dynamic. There are great range of rhythms and tempos and patterns to the music that keep it interesting and listen-able, even after many play-throughs. I've noticed in a lot of other doom metal I have listened to, the sound gets stale fairly quickly. Daylight Dies has done a superb job at creating a an album that is both melancholy and depressing, but is also a very interesting and holds attention well. The lyrics themselves are not anything spectacular, but the deep, loud, growling vocals really bring them to life and make them very powerful. Another quality of the lyrics is the way that a stanza will be repeated later in the song with a few of the words changed. This is very powerful where it is done in 'A Life Less Lived,' one of the albums best tracks. This is also done in 'A Dream Resigned,' but it is not as effective here. Another of this album's killer tracks is 'Lies That Bind.' The opening is spoken in clear, soft vocals, a unique departure, then erupts back into the aggressive vocals like those on the rest of the album. The lines build on each other in such a way that each one both adds to and changes the meaning of the line preceding it. I cannot put into words the full power, artistry, and masterful poetry of this part of the song. While there are plenty of very good songs on here, there are also a few that serve only to fill the gap between more powerful pieces. 'Dead Air' and 'All We Had' just do not seem to have the quality and power of the other tracks, though they are still very listenable. This album also does something unusual, at least from my experience; it closes with an instrumental. Many albums have some filler music that plays at the end of their album to close it out. 'Dismantling Devotion' closes out the album for a full 7 minutes. It is such a wonderfully melancholy song and it really works well closing out an album like this. It marches on like funeral procession and leaves the listener to reflect on the album's brilliance.

Raleigh, NC Daylight Dies has surprised me to no end with this album. I thought dark, melodic, depressing and genuinely moving masterpieces come out only out of Sweden, Finland or England. Very heavy doom/death (?), never mind the labels, also very melodic, very original heartfelt melodies at that. This stuff is capable of seriously depressing the listener, but also has this beautiful, love/compassion/sadness mix of angelic quality to it, only opeth, katatonia, dark tranquillity or (also American) novembers doom invoke in me. Beautiful, beautiful, deeply moving stuff. But for all its beauty, it also offers a serious amount of aggressive metal. In a word: flawless cd not just for metal fans.