New Band Of The Week: As Daylight Fades

If the name doesn’t give it away – which it should – Glasgow five-piece As Daylight Fades are a pessimistic bunch. The much is evident from the four songs on new EP Love//Loss, which is the culmination of a lot of hard work in the face of some trying circumstances. As such, it represents the start proper of the band and its release is a huge relief to all involved.

“The EP is something we’ve been working on since early last year,” explains guitarist Alan Ross. “With the member changes and stuff, it’s something that’s been going on for a long time, so to finally have it done is great. It feels like we’ve finally found our sound. It’s really a weight off our shoulders.”

A brutal barrage of harrowing metalcore interspersed with moments of eerily calm reflection, Love//Loss was recorded just a few months after vocalist Matty Clarke and bassist Roalnd Walet joined the band, which is completed by guitarist/vocalist Douglas Park and drummer/vocalist Cameron Humphrey.

“They kind of got thrown in at the deep end,” says Ross. “It was like, ‘Here are the tracks, now add your parts.’ But it feels like the five of us have been in a band forever. It’s crazy the way we’ve all bonded together and how much we gel. Everything just flows now.”

With that in mind, the band are setting their sights on the future, but with limited, modest scope for now – at the moment everything revolves around this new EP. The irony, of course, is that, for such a bleak recording, they’re full of hope for where it might take them, both literally and figuratively.

“We’re looking to tour more,” says Ross. “A lot more. That’s one thing we’ve all spoken about and it’s the one thing we all definitely want to do, so our plans for now are to bash this EP out everywhere we can and see what happens from there. We haven’t spoken about whether we’re doing an album or another EP next, but we definitely want to do more with this EP, because we’re really proud of it. We’d love to do a support tour. Our last tour was as a headliner and it was good, but a decent support slot would really benefit us, so that’s something we’re working towards.”

That, it seems, is the crux of being a new band these days – even if your songs are as powerful, emotive and pure as those on Love//Loss in this day and age, where every band has access to the internet, they have to compete, to some extent, in a global market. Sure, it’s easier to be heard than ever before, but you have to get heard in the first place, and do so while also keeping your integrity.

“That’s what we’re trying to do,” says Ross. “It’s hard to not follow what’s been received well. We know what booking agencies and what people who listen to music are looking for, and it’s really hard to follow that and at the same time be you, because you don’t just want to follow what everyone else is doing. We’re trying to put our own twist on what we do and the scene we’re in.”

For more information on As Daylight Fades, visit their Facebook page.