I remember checking out Daylight Dies on the advice of a friend whose opinion I really trust. Even before I got to hear the music I was impressed with a beautiful, almost poetic, moniker for this band nestled in North Carolina, USA, the land of college basketball and NASCAR car racing. Luckily, the contents of Idle EP, and even more so of No Reply full-length, were worthy of the buildup and façade. I remember being completely immersed in Unending Waves, one hell of a song from No Reply.

Apparently, Daylight Dies take their art seriously and do not like to be rushed. The follow-up, Dismantling Devotion, took four years and is going to be out soon on Candlelight USA Records.

If you never heard of Daylight Dies, or weren’t convinced by No Reply, you will only need to hear the opening dark string semiacoustic intro with monstrous heavy riffs to follow from the opener A Life Less Lived to be completely sold out. I am willing to sign any day under the statement that says Daylight Dies is the next big hope of the American doom metal. The band added density to their musical productions, the songs on Dismantling Devotion are so thick, layered and multifaceted every subsequent listen will lead to the discovery of a hidden nook and cranny previously missed.

Mostly mid-tempo songs, Daylight Dies has an incredible knack to combine dark melodies that pull ligaments and tendons out of your body with deathly heaviness, supported by upfront drumming and strong fluid guitars. Just like the riffs on Dismantling Devotion come at the listener in never-ending cascades, the drumming has a great deal of fills and percussion, not willing to sit idly by (Dead Air, Lies That Bind). Yet, when necessary, the double bass outburst can rip through the fabric and support a smooth lead or an elegant melody (A Dream Resigned, Lies That Bind).

Picky, yet superficial, approach may lead to the band earning a tag of Katatonia Jr. I do hear the dynamics of Black Murder Day on A Life Less Lived and Strive to See, and the vocals are reminiscent of Jonas Renkse (when he was growling) and Michael Stanne school of singing, where attention is paid to the emotions and melodic vocal lines. In fact, a few droplets of clean vocals (A Life Less Lived) perfectly attenuate the growls. The comparisons to the Swedish masters are valid in the conceptual influences only, Daylight Dies having immensely improved with their song compositions and chord progressions.

As if to show that they are adept in the slower doom style as well, the Americans unfold a classic funeral march driven by a mournful melody in Solitary Refinement. Lies That Bind showcases a quieter section, and a series of syncopated riffs prefacing well placed crescendos. The songs on Dismantling Devotion are different enough from each other, and are sequenced quite well, not to put a listener in a lull.

Unlike so many other deathdoom bands, Daylight Dies has a very special quality. To me personally, the songs project not only grief, but also hope as well. Their melodies may wander around and wallow in the mire, but they are constantly in search of the way out. Complete and utter dissolution, hope dashing and fading into oblivion of the final title instrumental is countered by the underlying chance of relief in A Life Less Lived.

All songs on Dismantling Devotion are solid, but tracks like A Life Less Lived, Solitary Refinement, Lies That Bind and the title instrumental are simply exquisite. With songs like that Daylight Dies deserves your attention on par with Solitude Aeturnus and Novembers Doom, two other front-running deathdoom American acts.