Daylight Misery
The Great Absence

Straight from the start with their new anthem ‘’M For Misery’’, the Athenians show that they worked harder, more carefully and surely more focused to create a better album than ‘’Depressive Icons’’, with the sense of the band’s personal identity getting deeper inside each specific track and the whole sum becoming a strong weapon in their armory. The title track that follows shows what hard work can do, and if you add the crystal clear and as loud as it must be production, the way each instrument sounds and the much more expressive voice of Bill on vocals compared to the debut album, then it is clear that this album will find its followers soon enough and in an easier way than they did the first time. The band sounds Greek like other great bands did in the early to mid ‘90s, as the Nightfall and partly Rotting Christ touch shows in many parts.

Tracks like ‘’Silence’’ and the band’s new clip ‘’Erynnis Funeralis’’ showcase the influences of the guys, but without the sense of copy but more with the sense of respect to these mentors and the personal sound they try to create. Not to mention the instant success of the experiment called ‘’Thliveros Cheimonas’’, an effort of the band to mix Greek lyrics on their song. This first try of the band to do such a thing finds me personally a fan of this move, which I’d dearly ask them to repeat in the following albums to come. The Greek fans that will listen to this will find it way too challenging and will definitely embrace this mixture. The foreign fans might reach a point where they’ll try to learn some Greek to know what the song and its lyrics are about. In any case, the band is the winner from all sides.

And while the long song of the album ‘’Futile Salvation’’ not only doesn’t tire the listener, but also enables ‘’The Great Absence’’ flow better after its middle, then comes ‘’Human Pollution’’ rather convincingly to make some heads bang, roll and some eyes close and ears open and really feel it to the depths of any sense. Great riff, really passionate vocals and before it begins, it has ended and made you want to listen to it again. The closing of the album contains two more anthems, ‘’Drop Dead’’ which could be a harsh song regarding its title, but is a melodic mid-tempo with a great lead that plays on the background and leads the track to high levels of catchy rhythms and repeated singing of the lyrics. Last and self explanatory, comes ‘’This Is How It Ends’’ which closes the album the way it begun, heavy, glorious and very fresh.

Above from being a very good album that easily tops its predecessor, the most important thing for Daylight Misery is that they show they have skills to evolve to a very flexible band and adapt their sound more easily than they did in the past. Don’t forget that melodic (or atmospheric, call it how you want) death metal is a genre that has found monumental moments, including Greek bands in it. The future of the band is totally depended on the will and effort the band members will have to make the band even bigger, influential and with a personal sound. I was very positive in feelings with this second album, as I was seeing they could do better and the only thing left was that they guys would prove me right. I believe that their third album can become even better and then we’ll be able to talk for a little masterpiece. Until then, enjoy this one and be happy for the Greek scene’s constant rise and evolution.