Daylight Dies
Lost To The Living

"Lost To the Living" is the third LP by Daylight Dies, a United States band that, with their previous works "No Reply" and "Dismantling Devotion," has demonstrated a remarkable sophistication in the more melodic realm of Doom/Death, making their way among much more well-known groups such as Katatonia, Anathema, and Novembers Doom.

Compared to its predecessors, this record is not lacking at all; the growl of the singer Nathan Ellis is always imposing and emotive, the riffs are slow, oppressive, and accompanied by cold and melancholic acoustic phrases, the bassist Egan O'Rourke's "clean" vocal performance is excellent during the calmer and more introspective moments.

The work opens with the stunning "Cathedral", one of the best tracks on the album, where the melodies and lyrics are grim and at the same time sad and decaying, and continues with the equally beautiful "A Portrait in White", more aggressive and dynamic compared to the previous, and "A Subtle Violence" which is introduced with an eerie arpeggio that leads into a violent explosion of guitars and drums, then proceeds with a magnificent guitar solo.

"And A Slow Surrender" is an intriguing instrumental track that conveys the feeling of a gray and foggy atmosphere from which it is difficult to find a way out, intensified also by the use of splendid acoustic parts and string symphonies. Continuing, after the intense "At a Loss" and "Woke up Lost" (in which Ellis' growl is absent), the album continues with "Descending", a track that in sound and structure does not differ much from the previous ones, and with "Last Alone", a magnificent track where the bass player Egan's vocal interpretation is perfectly suitable to express the reflection in a period of solitude.

This is a great album, well-arranged and well-composed; the only flaw is that it lacks innovative elements to distinguish it from the previous album. If you love the melancholic and refined doom/death of bands like Opeth, Novembre, and early Anathema, this is an LP you cannot miss.