Behind the Veil review for Running Out of Daylight
Running out of Daylight is the kind of album that needs to be savoured and enjoyed to its full extent by multiple listenings. It's a trip to a different dimension that helps you explore some of your darkest and most melancholic thoughts and feelings. It's, as you can understand from my introdution, the kind of album that's better described with a set of feelings and ideas, rather than clinically seen and examined as music and what it consists of. This is the first time I have the pleasure to listen to one of this U.S. based band's albums -they also have a demo and a debut full length-, but after this I'm definitely going to check out everything they've released, because THE LIVING FIELDS is one of the most unique and special bands, not only in the doom metal genre where they mostly are, but also in metal music in its entirety. They manage to take a vast variety of elements, channel them through their personal phasm and inspiration and transubstantiate them into something totally enchanting and intoxicating. The band's music isn't restricted by genre or instrumental boundaries, their influences and ideas are limitless and ever-expansive, so we could say that they play progressive doom metal that is surrounded by an epic atmosphere, beautiful melancholic melodic lines some of which have a Simon and Garfunkle approach to them, some death metal tinges and quite plenty of classical music and symphonic additions.Another thing that adds to the variety of their compositions are the vocals and there seem to be multiple vocal styles ranging from screams to black metal shrieks, falsettos, throaty rasped growls, operatic clean vocals and melancholic chants and narrations. Most of the times the vocals are layered so you get to listen to mutliple vocal styles that are accompanied by mournful pianos and violins and acoustic guitars. The rhythm section is heavy and naturally mid paced and slow for the most part without though some fast parts and even some blasts missing. The songs are filled with plenty of odd time signatures and tempo changes while the riffs are thick and imposing and the production is flawless. To wrap it all up, "Running out of Daylight" is mesmerising, original, dynamic and challenging and I urge you all to indulge in its beauty.
Christine Parastatidou, Behind the Veil