As Daylight Dies (Deluxe Edition)＜Colored Vinyl＞

Ever since Killswitch Engage lead vocalist Howard Jones began alternating his sung voice with his screamed one, the band's depth and dimension grew exponentially. There's plenty of brutal, pummeling death metal, blastbeats and the like, but there is texture in the attack too. This is a band who has been consistent in their approach, and in delivering the goods, but As Daylight Dies is perhaps their strongest moment so far. The songs are dynamite: check the combination of texture, riffs and melody in "This Is Absolution"; by the time they get to the chorus, it's all over; an anthem. The unbridled chaos of "Unbroken" reveals that they haven't traveled far from their roots; in fact, they've dug deeper, if that's possible, despite becoming better musicians. "Eye of the Storm" is just over the top. This is the sound of both the Apocalypse and the Second Coming rolled into one. The tight, turn on a dime stops and starts in the verse and the all-out roar of the refrains and the guitar break are the stuff of heavy metal legend. If the cynics don't get it by now, they never will. For the rest, this is the album to come into the tent with. Mastodon may have convinced just about everyone with Blood Mountain, but this is a Top Five metal candidate of 2006 for sure. ~ Thom Jurek

〈LOUD PARK〉 で大迫力のライヴをブチかましてくれた彼らの新作。どこまでもクリアなのに徹底的にヘヴィーで、あくまでメロディアスにも関わらず、強烈にアグレッシヴ。ハードコア上がりのバンドならではの熱きパッションと、高度なテクニックを兼ね備えたこのサウンドこそ、今後のメタル界を担うニュー・スタンダードだ!　〈メタルはダサい〉なんて戯言を言うヤツこそ、いまや己が時代錯誤なんだということを思い知れ!
bounce (C)菅原 亮