Album review: Dayseeker – Dark Sun

Metalcore is a busy subgenre. A tag now so amorphous that it can be used to describe everyone from Poison The Well to Beartooth to We Came As Romans, as well as much lighter and heavier ends of the spectrum, it’s hard to stand out.

This is indeed Dayseeker’s problem. On Dark Sun, the Orange County foursome come armed and ready with all the tools necessary for a decent album, yet there is very little we haven’t heard before. With game-changing records like Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal and Architects’ All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us still looming large over the scene, it’s hard for any metalcore band to do something truly original, but there is a definite lack of identity on their fifth effort.

Sure, the shimmering electronics elevate more ordinary tracks and add genuinely interesting accents – not least the futuristic gallop of the title-track – while vocalist Rory Rodriguez’s soaring cleans call to mind the all-encompassing lung-power of Lucas Woodland, but none of it feels vital.

There are aspirations for grandiosity on tracks like Neon Grave, and the poignant Midnight Eternal does hit hard, but by the time the obligatory, uninspired acoustic number Paper Heart rolls in, you’re feeling empty. Ultimately it’s not a bad record, but it also doesn't leave much of an impact.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: Bring Me The Horizon, Holding Absence, Of Mice & Men

Dark Sun is out now via Spinefarm