Holy Knights – Between Daylight and Pain
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
I don’t know what it is about symphonic, epic metal that strikes such a chord with me. Maybe it’s the sheer epicness of the complex arrangements. Maybe it’s those vocals that are just so over the top that just make you kind of laugh to yourself and go, “Fuck yeah!” Whatever it is, I just love this kind of metal. Some bands do it well, some do it not so good, and every now and then one particular band just takes it to a whole new level. That’s how I feel about Between Daylight and Pain by Italian symphonic/prog metalers Holy Knights.
The opening track “Mistery” encapsulates everything that I love about this genre of metal but as great as that song is, the album just gets better from there. Songs like “Frozen Paradise”, “Beyond the Mist”, and “Glass Room” showcase the dynamics of Holy Knights and their ability to utilize their talents for crafting epic songs with tempo changes, stellar guitar playing, and vocal and musical melodies that literally made the hair on my arms stand up. Holy Knights also shows that they can really dial it back with some simple yet gorgeous arrangements such as “Wasted Time” and the perfect album closing track “The Turning to the Madness.”
In my opinion, Between Daylight and Pain is a perfect epic/symphonic/prog metal masterpiece. It is so melodic and the vocals of Dario Di Matteo are what absolutely make this material as outstanding as it is. Much like with Symphony X and their singer Russell Allen, the music is outstanding but without a great vocalist it’s really nothing. Holy Knights delivered a perfect package and I couldn’t be happier that I gave this album some much deserved attention. It is such a well produced album and every time I listen to it I hear things that I didn’t hear the previous time. Do yourself a favor and give Between Daylight and Pain a listen. If you are a fan of bands like Symphony X, Nightwish, and Kamelot, this just may become your new favorite album.
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