Album Review: Far From Life by Dying Light (Self Released)

Dying Light are a melodic infused metal outfit based out of New Jersey who are unleashing their dynamic album Far From Life on the 28th January 2022 on CD.

With a successful digital release back in late 2021, the band are giving the fans what they have been craving for in a physical release. Forming in 2019, Dying Light released their debut, Shallow Grave, back in April 2020. They teamed up with Charlie Berezansky of Rival Sound studio and laid the foundations for the upcoming release. Far From Life features 10 original songs by Dying Light and 1 original song, “Mercy”, by Michael Ferentino. Dying Light are a 5 piece with Jeff Ross on vocals, Jim Haldenwang and Doug Edwards on guitars, Chris Fritz on bass and harmonies and Shaun Dilliplane on drums.

Mixing multiple genres between hard rock and heavy metal, Dying light bring a heady mix of stomping riffs, catchy choruses and intricate melody creating a sound that moves between heavy, traditional and everything in between.

Far From Life is a good length with 11 tracks and is in the region of 45 minutes worth of music to get your teeth stuck into. It all kicks off with the song The Cycle. It’s a sure fire way to start an album off, the big intro riff hits you straight away and gets your interest up. There is a lot to like here in an interesting song – movements between chunky verse riffs and lead guitar melody and vocals that are clean but with edge all combine in a stomping track that is supremely catchy with a nice chorus that gets well stuck in your head.

Parasite keeps that relatively simple, heavy metal sound with a wicked verse but a slightly flat chorus. Overall the song is great though and a lot of that is down to the immense solo and exciting mixture of stompy riffage and screaming melody.

The title track, Far From Life, is a banger bringing a real mixture of elements together into a single song but making it work. A banging solo separates verse that have a darker feel to them. There is some really impressive drum work in the breakdown in particular and the chorus is well sung and captures the dark mood of the song really well. Walk Away is the winner for catchy choruses so far. It’s excellent. The verses come in a slow delivery with thunderous drums and a slamming, bass led riff. There is a bit of a trash feel to the delivery before it jumps into the more traditional sounding chorus. It’s a real headbanger of a track and will have you roaring “Walk” like Phil Anselmo was in the house.

With all the catchiness, the groove, the big riffs and fiery melody, you can’t help but be impressed by the sheer variety on offer in Far From Life. There is much more to come too. Darker Fear has that heavy ballad feel with a more melodic intro, acoustic verses and a chorus that sees the electric drop in for a song that feels anthemic despite it’s dark content. Jeff Ross’ vocals really stand out here as well with soothing tones that still hold enough bite and edge to make sure you know he means it.

Cry Out goes for a simpler style with an easy to appreciate sound. Good riffs and a steady tempo and of course a banging solo. Mercy (Michael Ferentino) has a cracking intro with a screaming lead guitar joined by a grooving riff, a solid chorus. Despite it’s catchiness, it’s a dark song lyrically and the vocals really put the message across well.

Follow You and The Season come next. The former being as stomping beast of a track with excellent vocal harmonies and a delicate blend of dark riffs and weaved in melody. The latter bringing back that slower melodic style  along with another absolute cracker of a solo. Like a lot of the album, it is dark and weighty by design and the best thing I can say about that is they convey that emotion perfectly. You genuinely feel it. So we reach the penultimate track with the song Sweet Death. It’s another strong song with everything you would by now expect. Big riffs and exciting melody, a thick bassy sound and solid drumming. The vocals are strong – it’s a very good song but, it is far from the best on the album.

The same could be said for the album closer, a short song called Dead Inside. Again, it’s good. There is a great little solo and a strong riff. Structurally it works well with the riff playing out followed by a vocal line. The chorus is good – it’s all good but there are better songs overall on the album that leave a more lasting impression. For that reason only, I found it weird to be the song/songs to end on. Often that last impression is as important as the first impression.

If you picked up this album back in 2021, you already know it’s a top quality release from a talented group with so much to offer. If you didn’t, like me, so this is your first time hearing it, well, those same words hold true. This is a top quality release from a talented band. Far From Life explores a myriad of tempo changes and moods highlighting the diversity of creativity that Dying Light offers. Drawing influences predominantly from music of the 1980s and ‘90s, and modernising with their own distinctive twist, Far From Life is a dynamic mix of heavy styles. Always interesting, Dying Light don’t hide from those influences, instead putting all of their own musical taste and experience into a collection of songs that make the album feel genre ascendant.

Having so many elements shine through in an album can cause a creative mess, bits of songs instead of songs, but Dying Light have circumnavigated that issue expertly with every note and transition feeling like it belongs.  The pace is very steady throughout and I would have personally liked to see things really go for it just to break up the pacing. A minor thing and personal preference though so let’s leave on the positives Far From Life deserves – this is a strong release full of exciting guitars, headbanging rhythm and passionate vocals that will leave you thirsty for more from Dying Light.

Dying Light Links

Facebook – Instagram – YouTube