My Top 20 of 2012 – Number 20

Yes, it is that time of year again when the Internet seems inundated with ‘top albums of the year’ lists. Well, glory be, here’s another one, courtesy of yours truly, The Man Of Much Metal.

I have decided to create a daily countdown of my personal top 20 albums of 2012. I realise that this will mean that the top few will not be unveiled until 2013 but I felt this would be the best option for many reasons:

Firstly, there were too many candidates to whittle it down to a top 10 or top 15. Secondly, I thought that if I highlighted one a day, it would give people the time to properly check out each of the bands without any of them getting lost in a long list. Furthermore, each post can be fairly succinct and will allow me to offer links, artwork and a small précis about each album without (hopefully) losing reader interest. It may hopefully encourage some discussion about each choice individually – at least, I hope so. Positive or negative, you can hit me with it!

So, without any further ado, here goes…

Number 20:

Daylight Dies
“A Frail Becoming”
Candlelight Records

I am a sucker for melodic dark/doom metal and there are few better examples than “A Frail Becoming”, the fourth album from the American quintet Daylight Dies.

There is more than a hint of early Katatonia in the band’s sound, but that cannot be a bad thing can it? The compositions on this album are epic for all the right reasons – they are often crushingly heavy but yet convey a delicate and fragile beauty thanks to some glorious melodies contained within evocative lead guitar lines. This was by and large the album that I have always hope to hear from this band, as I knew that they had it in them.

Anyone else with a soft spot for melodic doom metal should find room in their collection for this album. If you don’t believe me, check these tracks out…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc4WUN8KWig&w=420&h=315]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-10OuFqyzEM&w=420&h=315]