Day into Night

Quo Vadis have produced 3 full-length albums and a live release over a career spanning around 15 years. Their second album, Day Into Night, the follow up to their debut Forever... is one of my current favourites to come from the 'technical melodic' death metal scene (if one is permitted to use such specific sub-sub-genre terms).

One of the first things that I noticed with this album were the vocals. Rather than an all-out, guttural gurgle or typical death metal growl, they come across as more of a dry, raspy, almost thrash-like roar. At first I though they were pretty weak, but they suit the mood of the album because this is not supposed to be the aural assault that many listeners may be accustomed to. The focus of the album is on technicality along with melody, rather than being brutal, and so through Arie Itman's delivery, we hear the emotional anguish also reflected in other aspects of the music and the lyrics. They brings a softer edge that correlates with the instrumental structure behind each track on which they feature. This also allows for the listener to understand the words without having to resort to a lyrics sheet.

To touch upon the lyrical content of this album for a moment, Quo Vadis tap into a less formulaic branch of verse on Day Into Night than has often been addressed in the death metal genre. Their attention is directed towards personal beliefs and understandings of life and despair. Each non-instrumental track showcases Arie's vocals in contrast with the guitars. They're rough around the edges and the lyrics accommodate this style of singing, whilst he perpetuates their deft content.

The solos that feature fairly frequently on this album aren't overly complex, but convey a certain level of beauty that redeems their lack of intensity. This is probably one of the only areas where the guitars seem to refrain from becoming overtly technical when perhaps they could have been, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would have been nice to hear a well-structured and complex solo at least once.

Clean guitar breaks are utilized on this album, which create a calmed atmosphere; a suspension of the main drive of the guitars surrounding each break. Dream is a prime example of this style of musicianship. Given the title of the track, it doesn't deceive; it has a flowing majesty about it. For the majority of the track, an atmosphere is sculpted around the emphasis on clean guitar work with the occasional increase in tempo and intensity, but not too much to deter from that carefully crafted position of drifting melancholy.

Obviously, the primary style of the guitars on this release is to produce a subtle melody. There are plenty of catchy riffs and groovy hooks that I find myself humming them at random times. For me, the more notable examples of these feature on Hunter/Killer, Let it Burn and On the Shores of Ithaka.

The drums are probably the heaviest element on the whole album. Yanic Bercier contributes some solid drumming to the mix, with a healthy amount of diversity on each track. It can be loud and aggressive, then he will suddenly change to a slower pace and then maybe back again. They can be pounding and blasting at you one minute, and more subdued the next, allowing for the guitar melodies to caress the sound waves.

Production on this release is crisp and every instrument is perfectly audible to the befitting degree. This clarity adds a definite eloquence to proceedings, which continues the flowing nature of the album as a whole.

Two of the best examples from this album, apart from Dream come in the form of Hunter/Killer and On the Shores of Ithaka, the latter, for me, being a near exemplary exposition of technical, yet melodic death metal.

On the whole, this is a very nutritious dose of melodic death metal with plenty of technicality to keep listeners of all preferences interested. I don't consider this too melodic to discourage fans of the heavier side of death metal, in the same way that is isn't too heavy to put off those who prefer a more melodic approach. Day Into Night has the appropriate balance of all characteristics, with enough of each to have most audiences giving this repeat spins.