First of all, the cover art on Sunlight At Secondhand is from the extremely talented Paul Romano, who has done wonders with works by Mastondon, The Red Chord, Trivium, Dead to Fall, The Acacia Strain, Hate Eternal, and many others. Did I say Paul Romano? OK, I'm repeating myself. That's one reason to investigate this rew release from Memphis' Nights Like These. If you've followed this band at all since their 2006 debut The Faithless, you've no doubt been sucked in by their brutally heavy, often times complex and melodic death/grind/metalcore style. Let's face it, these guys are the heaviest act on the Victory Records roster, and Sunlight At Secondhand is damn heavy indeed. Take one listen to the crushing sounds of "Bay of Pigs" and that's all the proof you'll need of the mammoth power of these five lads who hail from the capitol of country music. Give them credit to mixing things up a bit here, especially on the dark instrumental "Collective Unconscious", which sees them putting on their post-rock & prog hats for some weaving melody lines and lilting arrangements. However, if it's bruising metal with screaming growls you are looking for from them, fear not, there's plenty of that here, like the doomy "Claw Your Way Out", the raging death-core of "Empty Lungs", and the psychedelic metal that is the spooky "Electric Winds", complete with some fabulous guitar washes & behemoth riffing that would make an fan of stoner rock smile. In fact, much of Sunlight At Secondhand seems to have a layer of psychedelia that makes it hard to classify this as pure death metal or metalcore, which is a sign that these guys are growing up fast and really starting to find their identity. No matter how you slice it, these grooves are damn heavy and impressive, and should do much to bring more exposure to this talented band.
Track Listing
1. Heart of the Wound
2. Black the Sun
3. Samsara
4. Bay of Pigs
5. Collective Unconscious [Instrumental]
6. Claw Your Way Out
7. Empty Lungs
8. Veteran Thieves
9. Electric Winds
10. King
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