In Dying Days

This three-song EP from Montreal's In Dying Days is an impressive if somewhat unsurprising debut. Recalling current metallic/noisecore heroes Poison The Well, In Dying Days utilises the same attributes: emotional/melodic riffing, metallic breaks, death/thrash-inspired runs and clean, and spoken word segments contrasting with screamed hostility. Opener "Once Were Warriors" opens with a metallic-throb reminiscent of Burn It Down's "Kill Their Idols" before embracing a quicker tempo, and beginning the inescapable Poison The Well comparisons. "Never Tear Apart" begins with a mid-paced stomp before segueing into a more melodic, up-tempo passage and defaulting to a standard metallic breakdown that the thrash scene of the '80s early '90s never gets properly credited for pioneering. "Old Paintings" finishes off this EP, and relies heavily on In Dying Days greatest assets - guitar leads that contain melody, sacrificing abrasion for hooks, even if the song starts to drag by its conclusion. In Dying Days have offered a debut that should have little difficulty acquiring fans, with an already identified sound and style, whether they will do something unique with it and escape their influences is the real question.