Customer Reviews

Lost to the Living

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4 star:		(2)
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Finally.........In a pretty weak year of Metal/Doom, we are reminded that there is hope with this album. My thanks to the band for this latest masterpiece.

This is really a great CD. Better than their last one, which was very good in itself. These guys really should be on a "opeth" type level of popularity in the metal world. Heavy and a bit melancholic. Looking very forward to the next one.

2008's Lost to the Living is the third full-length album from North Carolina-based gothic/doom/death metal band Daylight Dies. Along with Paradise Lost (and perhaps Lilitu), Daylight Dies is one of the few American bands that can truly compete with their European counterparts.

Daylight Dies has an interesting sound that reflects a few strong influences. It's immediately obvious that Katatonia is a major influence, but I can also hear traces of Opeth's early material as well as gothic elements reminiscent of early Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. It's a wonderfully cold and Scandinavian-sounding album that revels in utter doom and depression. That they manage to do this without keeping a funereal pace is a point in their favor. Lost to the Living may be a completely doomy and depressing album, but you can bang your head to it! Harsh vocals - and really good ones at that - predominate, but there's an emphasis on melancholy clean vocals this time around that just adds to the album's bleak atmosphere.

To my ears, Lost to the Living is the best Daylight Dies album to date, and I say that as someone who absolutely loves No Reply. If Katatonia had continued making death metal albums, they would probably sound a lot like this. I suppose that means Daylight Dies hasn't found a completely unique sound, but their music is strong enough that it doesn't matter. If you're a fan of doom, death, and/or gothic metal, you need to check out Lost to the Living.

I didn't much appreciate DD's previous album (Dismantling Devotion), finding the band to receive attention because they were from the US rather than justification on their musical talent or merit alone. This album is much better.

Production is very crisp, the sound clear. The vocals suited and the guitars sound really nice. It's not a slow, cumbersome album and for a doom / progressive band, it flows along rather nicely. In fact I feel it finishes rather soon (despite being 50+ minutes), which is a testament to the band for keeping you interested, with their subtle 'hues' and changes of style.

The only critisism and area of growth I could point out would be that it's a little too Opeth-like in places - obviously not a bad thing however originality is what this band needs, and they have the talent showcased quite clearly here.

I look forward to the next album, which I think will be even stronger.