Band:	Daylight Misery
Album:	Depressive Icons
Style:	Death doom metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	April 14, 2010
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Intro
02. Meadows Of Desire [feat. Euthimis Karadimas]
03. Depressive Icons
04. Miserablia [feat. Jacob Batten]
05. Infinity [feat. Sakis Tolis]
06. Endless Fairytale
07. Stealing Flowers From A Grave
08. Soul Embraced
09. Mind Games

Daylight Misery (probably took their name from a Draconian song on the monumental Arcane Rain Fell, nevertheless I could be wrong, just making a guess) is a hellenic melodic death/doom metal band that appeared this year (they've been around for about 2 years) with their first full-length, Depressive Icons. Of course they were not alone in this attempt and to be fair, they deserved the appearances they had on this very first album, so one could say it was mainly a collaboration of people from renowned bands with people that begin their musical journey having a lot to say, while promising more for the future, rather than just help.

One can find here Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ and Euthimis Karadimas of Nightfall on vocal appearances, Jakob Batten of Illdisposed on guitar role on "Miserablia" and Seraph of the wonderful german black metal act Dark Fortress on drums. Last but not least, the renowned Travis Smith sculptured the cover artwork and Rotting Christ's guitarist, George Bokos, produced Depressive Icons, finalizing the compositions.

Once the intro opens Depressive Icons in such an inspired and atmospheric way the only thing you expect is something good to say the least; and the flow of the album couldn't prove me wrong. The band blends melody and aggression in such a way that they seem to be walking hand in hand, with the guitars either having a groovy, dynamic sound or a more weeping, melodic point of view, with the rhythm section pacing as well in a raging or accompanying way. You will also find keyboards flowing almost all over the place whenever needed, withough exaggerating, evoking atmosphere or even having a more dominant role at times like on the fabulous "Stealing Flowers From A Grave". A pleasant addition have to be the female vocals on "Meadows Of Desite", whereas the male grunting vocals, with a harsher edge at times, complete the scenery in a powerful manner.

Of course there are influences from the general doom/death metal scene as well as references to hellenic metal bands, this could be almost inevitable, but these fellas know how to compose wonderful songs with respect to their influences. And please, goddamn labels, give this band a chance, after all, (I think) they deserve it. The production is good but with the ideal support of a label could have been definitely better. The songs I enjoyed the most must be "Infinity", "Miserablia", "Meadows Of Desire", "Depressive Icons" and "Soul Embraced".

Daylight Misery deserve your support if you're searching for a promising newcomer in the world of melodic death/doom metal, Depressive Icons is just the beginning.