Daylight Dies – “A Frail Becoming”

It’s hard to believe what an outstanding year 2012 has been for heavy music. Literally every week I seem to get something that could be an album of the year contender. Baroness, Cattle Decapitation, Demon Lung, Devin Townsend, Paradise Lost, Enslaved, Mortum and Testament have all presented phenomenal offerings. Now, yet another superior record has reared it’s head, this time in the form of A Frail Becoming by american band Daylight Dies.

Despite the fact that Daylight Dies have been around for quite a few years – their first demo came out in 1999 from what I can tell – I was totally unfamiliar with them or their work. Sure their name may have seemed vaguely familiar, but that was it. Regardless, now that I’ve heard A Frail Becoming I plan on listening to the rest of their back catalog as this disc is just amazing.

Sound-wise the group is a cross between doom and death with a slightly more commercial vibe than your average death or doom band. For example, the production is highly-polished and vocalist Nathan Ellis throws in the occasional “clean” vocals . The songs are melancholy yet catchy, similar to Paradise Lost with some Katatonia thrown in for good measure. Not everyone is going to like this, but I dare you to listen to it on a cold rainy night with the wind howling outside. If you do, you too will hear a truly excellent album!

Track Listing:

01. Infidel
02. The Pale Approach
03. Sunset
04. Dreaming of Breathing
05. A Final Vestige
06. Ghosting
07. Hold on to Nothing
08. Water’s Edge
09. An Heir to Emptiness

Run Time: 48:50
Release Date: October 9, 2012

Check out the song: “Dreaming of Breathing”