Normally, we like to pen a few lines of senseless drivel to entertain before you click that orange button thingie, but today—as August rightfully wanes into oblivion—our digital inkwell is virtually dry. Parched, if you will. That being said, we’re going to let Daylight Dies dash your hopes and weather-make your sunny day outright cloudy. They can do that, you know. It’s time to enter an overcast state of mind.

Oh, and don’t forget to read bassist/vocalist Egan O’Rourke’s all-too sensible answers to our probing questions after the Soundcloud player.

Four years separate A Frail Becoming from Lost to the Living. How do you think Daylight Dies has grown during that time?

Egan O’Rourke: There have been a lot of personal changes over the last four years and that’s forced us to grow up as individuals and subsequently as a band. We’ve had members moving all over the country; Guys have gotten married, started businesses and bought houses. It’s the sort of grown up stuff that could have easily broken us but instead it’s strengthened our resolve. The chaos necessitated some role changes and changes in the logistics of how we do things but I think the result is our strongest album to date.

Do you feel you faced a wall in terms of what fit into Daylight Dies’ framework? A Frail Becoming is your fourth album and I know there are varied musical interests throughout the membership.

Egan O’Rourke: I think the Daylight Dies framework has always been more varied than we’re given credit for, but I think this record demonstrates it in a way we’ve not shown. Barre [Gambling] and I split the writing on AFB which gives some more variety to the sound. We also involved Charlie [Shackelford] much more and actually really took advantage of his talents this time. In general, I think we were more open minded about this and focused on simply getting the best songs we possibly could. It all still sounds like Daylight Dies despite the fact that much of it is very different than past albums.

What do you think are the main sonic attributes that separate A Frail Becoming from your previous albums?

Egan O’Rourke: We really tried to push our boundaries on this and commit to the goals of the individual parts. I think that’s evident from the start of the record. We are far more aggressive out of the gate, but we expanded in the opposite direction as well. I’m singing a bit more on this record which creates an opportunity to really highlight the intensity of what Nathan does by contrast. We aimed for similar dynamic variation with the guitar and drum work as well. Everyone really stepped up and delivered performances beyond what we’ve done before.

At this point, has the Daylight Dies message stayed the same? Are doom and gloom still part of the lyrical fulcrum, for example?

Egan O’Rourke: If there is a singular unifying element to everything Daylight Dies has done it is darkness. In that regard the message has been constant since our earliest days. What has changed is that as we get older we’re more able to see and write about things beyond ourselves. There are certainly a lot of personal lyrics on this record but I think you’ll see an insight beyond that as well.

How much will fans get to see A Frail Becoming on stage?

Egan O’Rourke: We expect to be touring early next year and hope to get to fans who haven’t gotten to see us before.

What do you want fans to walk away with after listening to the new album?

Egan O’Rourke: This is the feel bad album of the year.

** Daylight Dies’ new album, A Frail Becoming, is out October 9th on Candlelight Records USA. It’s available HERE for pre-order. You could get the new Cobra-La edition of Sabaton’s military-themed Euro garbage, but we don’t endorse that course of action in the slightest. We’re less into boom and zoom and more into gloom and doom. As such, the new Daylight Dies long-player rules our autumn. And it will yours as well.