Album Review: Dying Light – Shallow Grave

Dark, heavy and unpredictable

Dying Light’s most recent album Shallow Grave is an undeniably dark soundtrack that is heavy with themes of death, destruction and war. The first track of the album “Dying Light” is very easy to follow with clean vocals and a guitar melody that closely follows the vocal line. Almost immediately upon hearing the opening music of the album the listener gets the tone: eerie and unsettling.

The entirety of the album is unpredictable with its use of strange harmonies, chromatic melodies and unexpected chord bends heard throughout each song. The song “God of War” paints a vibrant picture with its opening intro. It is very easy to picture the scene the lyrics describe and feels as though you are walking through a battlefield in the aftermath of war. The artist manages to create a meaningful depth in this piece with the choice of acoustic guitar over electric. The acoustic guitar is able to connect with darker emotions that help the serious tone of this particular track. The lyrics give a clear picture of war and the scenery of battle. There is a clear sense of rage at the idea of war as the song presents itself as a protest. The guitar’s melody reaches ear-piercingly high notes that sound desperate almost like the artist is pleading to get his point across.

Listening to the later track “Shallow Grave” the tone of the album begins to border on the side of strange and creepy goth rock style. In this track, sounds of actual shovels digging and what could be considered nails scratching, are heard. Both the vocals and guitar melodies follow an intentionally unpredictable pattern to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Though “Shallow Grave” is a relatively slow song for the album, it is full of power and anger.

Overall, the album is both interesting and frustrating with its chromatic turns and unresolved harmonies. This soundtrack it a particularly heavy piece with its dark themes of death, destruction, and rage. The choices that went into this album are intriguing and very creative. Fans who like to tread on the side of goth rock and dissonant twists will certainly love this new album.