1. Let’s start with something else than all that crappy discography stuff. I am interesting in your way of living in United States. Do you think, that such a Great Power, like your country certainly is, is a good place for your music ? Are you influenced mostly from good or bad things, which are happening there ?

Inspiration for our comes more from within ourselves than any outside political or cultural influence. Being from the U.S. has little to no impact on the kind of music we make. Our music isn't political and since this is an interview about Daylight Dies and not me personally, I'll avoid the political discussion.

2. You’ve toured many places so far, gained a a lot of experiences and also great success. On the other side, you’ve probably also lost a lot. Where do you think was that crash point, where Daylight Dies became a known and well respected band ?

We're still an underground band in every sense of the word. Our fan base and name recognition may have grown, but we haven't had a level of success that's allowed us to headline a tour, or live off our music at all. We're comfortable with that reality. We've been lucky to have been a part of some strong tours with great people and great bands.

3. Let’s continue with more actual question. Your new album is already released, the press is writing reviews, fans are listening. Is this album something special for you ? Do you remember some special occasions, which marked this record ?

We wrote this album in the shortest time span yet, by far. As soon as we got off the Moonspell/Katatonia tour in November 2006 we focused on writing and didn't stop until we entered the studio in December 2007. There were no major technical catastrophes in the recording process, everything went smoothly. The album is incredibly important for us. We have very high expectations of ourselves as song writers.. and this is our third album. Internally we felt we need to take a real step in trying a few new things and have the music accurately reflect ourselves today. We're not the same 21 year olds who wrote No Reply, or 25 year olds who wrote Dismantling Devotion.

4. If I compare “Lost to the Living” to your previous albums, it seems you’re even more focused on melody. You can shift from slow to faster tempo, but everything is still incredibly compact, harmonic and melodic. What do you think about it ?

Melody has always been central to Daylight Dies. Since we're a band based on a wide range of emotional expression, yet we have death vocals most of the time. Since death vocals don't change pitch or carry melodies, the guitars take on that role in a way. If you listen to bands with melodic singing, you'll notice the instruments take a step back and play rhythm to let the vocal carry the melody. We're the opposite.. most of the time.


5. I have one special question, but I am not pretty sure, that it is suitable exactly for you, Jesse. But at least I’ll try it. Did you use some older motives during composing your new album ? Some ideas from the past ..

The past is always with us. We move steadily into the future and expand ourselves and our identity, but without losing sight of who we are. Despite all the progression and new things we're doing musically, when you listen to "Lost to the Living" you can still almost instantly say "this is Daylight Dies". That, in a way, is the past speaking.

6. I hope I won’t stumble you with this, but I listened your new album so much, that I’ve created my own complex opinion and maybe a story behind it. It seems to me, that it’s very romantic. Like it was recorded by somebody who lost a very close person and he is recollecting nice memories on him. But I didn’t find any association to all that gothic 666 post-romantic metal bands :)

You've partially hit the nail on the head there. A central theme to many of the songs is loss. One song is about the loss of a friend, others are about the loss of youth, the loss of innocence. Lost to the Living in general is about the inertia and apathy that the daily routine of life seems to bring with it. The loss of that spark and hunger for life.

7. You've partially hit the nail on the head there. A central theme to many of the songs is loss. One song is about the loss of a friend, others are about the loss of youth, the loss of innocence. Lost to the Living in general is about the inertia and apathy that the daily routine of life seems to bring with it. The loss of that spark and hunger for life.

"Last Alone" was written by him entirely, and was intended for the the vocals which are on it. We also had in mind clean vocals for "Woke up Lost".. it's pretty evident when you've written a song what kind of vocals you want where. That's one of the easier parts to figure out.

8. Is „Lost to the Living“ something different from the view of production ? What about the mixing of the album, did it took you more time than in the past ? Where was the album recorded ? I guess it wasn’t a question of few days and one studio.

We recorded everything here in North Carolina. Then we sent it off to Fascination Street Studios in Sweden, where it was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren. He also mixed Dismantling Devotion. We were so happy with the result that we returned. We're really pleased with the result once again, he knows how to bring the songs to life.

9. Concerning to metal-archives.com, you are pretty much focused on Daylight Dies. Only you, , Barre and Nathan have another band, what is cool in these times of „more bands, more cult !!“. Should we take it as Daylight Dies is a high priority thing for all of you ?

Barre and Nathan don't have another band, those are former bands. So the band is equal priority for everyone. That's not to say we might not help out a local band, or jam with others, but Daylight Dies is always priority number one.


10. Are you like people, who set up some high standard and then they try to overcome it, or do you want to live from it as much and as long as it is possible ?

I'm exactly sure what you're asking, but we tend to set a high expectations for ourselves musically. We don't want to create something if it's not as good or better than before.

11. I’ve already asked you on touring and now I want to evolve my question. Could you compare touring in the USA and Europe ? How does look your ordinary day during the tour ? I don’t believe you would miss some parties etc. A musician, who returned from a long tour probably has that kind of feeling, when he does not want to hear his music at least a month ?

That's true, when you're done with a tour you want to be completely isolated from any sound or activity. A dark room is your friend for a couple weeks. My experience is that touring the U.S. and Europe is quite different. In Europe, it seems that most logistics are neatly arranged and properly followed by promoters at each venue. Your rider (requests for towels, food, fruit, etc.) is generally respected and you can expect the basics required to stay healthy. In the U.S., our rider is almost always completely ignored. Sometimes it can be a challenge to get fucking water! It widely depends on the venue, but often times all planning is thrown out the window. It's more of a wild west mentality. That's not true for every venue of course.. but it's much more "raw" here compared to Europe.

12. So, that’s probably all from me. I hope you didn’t mind my long and straight questions. It was a pleasure for me to make an interview with a band, which created the best 2008 album so far. Bye !

Thank you for the interview and flattering comments. Anyone who read this far should check out some songs from the new album, and if it is your cup of tea, get a copy directly from us at daylightdies.com. Take it easy.