By Night

French quartet Dagoba plays melodic death metal with dominant keyboard passages flirting with pop music in the key of Cyhra, The Halo Effet and contemporary In Flames on its eighth studio record By Night.

Only few elements remind of the band's groove and industrial metal origins such as the powerful ''The Hunt''. Most songs are quite catchy, melodic and offer songwriting by the numbers such as the memorable ''The Last Crossing'' that is essentially a conteporary electronic pop song masked as melodic death metal. The band pushes the boundaries most on the duet ''On the Run'' that features catchy, melodic and soothing female vocals and could easily be integrated into playlists of disc jockeys working in alternative discotheques of downtown Marseille.

The album also explores its electronic sounds in depth with the inclusion of three instrumental tunes. The closing ''Stellar'' offers some atmospheric depth and cinematic soundscapes. The forgettable, short and unspectacular ''Break'' perfectly defines what a filler sounds like. The worst offender is however the opening ''Neons'' that sounds unintentionally funny as it reminds of a robot imitating vomiting sounds.

At the end of the day, one has to praise Dagoba for its courage to walk off the beaten path, incorporate new genres into its sound and push the boundaries in ways that will be received very controversially. However, just as contemporary In Flames, The Halo Effect and Cyhra have received their share of negative feedback, Dagoba's By Night could suffer a similar fate. I'm not even sure whether I appreciate the band's new unexpected sound or not. It's however certainly interesting and deserves multiple spins to open up and leave a lasting impression.