As Daylight Dies

As Daylight Dies is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on November 21, 2006 through Roadrunner Records. It was produced by the band's guitarists, Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel. The Album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 23, 2021, for selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.^[2]

As Daylight Dies
Studio album by Killswitch Engage
Released	November 21, 2006
Recorded	June–September 2006
Studio	Zing Studios (Westfield, Massachusetts) Long View Farm (North Brookfield, Massachusetts)
Genre	Melodic metalcore[1]
Length	43:39
Label	Roadrunner
Producer	Adam Dutkiewicz, Joel Stroetzel
Killswitch Engage chronology
The End of Heartache (2004) As Daylight Dies (2006) Killswitch Engage (2009)
Alternative cover
Special edition cover
Singles from As Daylight Dies
"My Curse" Released: November 6, 2006 "The Arms of Sorrow" Released: April 26, 2007 "Holy Diver" Released: August 17, 2007 "This Is Absolution" Released: October 20, 2008

Background and release

The album was released on November 13, 2006 through Roadrunner Records. It peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200,^[3] selling up to 60,000 copies within its first week.^[4] It also peaked within the Rock, Hard Rock, and Digital Albums Charts. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on June 30, 2009,^[5] which was on the same date of the release of its successor, Killswitch Engage. It has since gone on to sell more than 500,000 copies in the United States alone.^[6] The album was later certified platinum on November 23, 2021, by the RIAA, indicating sales of 1,000,000 or more.^[7]

The album's first single, "My Curse", was released in 2006, and managed to peak at number 21 on the Billboard Rock Songs Chart.^[8] The radio edit strips down most of the track's unclean vocals, replacing them with Howard Jones' re-recorded clean vocals. A music video directed by Lex Halaby (who previously directed the live video for "A Bid Farewell")^[9] premiered on MTV 2's Headbangers Ball on November 3, 2006.^[10][11][12] "My Curse" was included as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and as downloadable content for the video games Rock Band and Rock Band 2. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the video games Burnout Dominator and Burnout Paradise. The album's second single, "The Arms of Sorrow", was released in 2007, and peaked at number 30 on the Rock Songs Chart.^[13] A music video directed by Aggressive premiered on Headbangers Ball on May 1, 2007.^[14][15][16]

A special edition was released on August 28, 2007, including four B-sides and a DVD containing three music videos and behind-the-scenes footage.^[17] The album's B-side "Holy Diver", a Dio cover, was released as the album's third single on August 17, 2007.^[18] It peaked at number 12 on the Rock Songs Chart, making it the band's highest charting single. A music video directed by Brian Thompson premiered on the band's official Myspace page on August 1, 2007.^[19] The video is a comical re-imagining of the original video by Dio.^[20] A music video for the album's fourth single, "This Is Absolution", was released in 2008, featuring footage of the band performing the song live, as well as backstage footage. It also released the song "This Fire Burns" (listed in the album as simply "This Fire"),^[21] which was the theme song for WWE Judgment Day 2006 and later, the entrance music for professional wrestler CM Punk from 2006 to 2011. It was also used for two occasions by Randy Orton. The song had previously been released on the WWE Wreckless Intent album in May 2006.^[22]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[23]
AllMusic	[24]
Blender	[25]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	5/10[26]
Drowned in Sound	9/10[27]
Melodic	[28]
MusicOMH	[29]
Spin	[30]
Sputnikmusic	3.5/5[31]
Stylus Magazine	B[32]

The album has received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Thom Jurek of AllMusic praised the album, scoring it a four-and-a-half out of five and commenting, "If the cynics don't get it by now, they never will. For the rest, this is the album to come into the tent with."^[24] The tracks "This Is Absolution", "Unbroken", and "Eye of the Storm" were indicated as the AMG Track Picks.^[24] Raziq Rauf of Drowned in Sound also praised the album, scoring it a nine out of ten and saying, "With As Daylight Dies, Killswitch Engage have cemented their position as the reason for metalcore ever existing."^[27]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Howard Jones; all music is composed by Killswitch Engage.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Daylight Dies"	4:05
2.	"This Is Absolution"	3:34
3.	"The Arms of Sorrow"	3:44
4.	"Unbroken"	3:08
5.	"My Curse"	4:04
6.	"For You"	4:03
7.	"Still Beats Your Name"	3:19
8.	"Eye of the Storm"	3:56
9.	"Break the Silence"	4:32
10.	"Desperate Times"	4:25
11.	"Reject Yourself"	4:45
Total length:		43:39

Best Buy exclusive live bonus tracks (taken from (Set This) World Ablaze)

No.	Title	Length
12.	"My Last Serenade"	3:24
13.	"The End of Heartache"	4:48
14.	"When Darkness Falls"	3:47

Special edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Be One"	3:31
13.	"Let the Bridges Burn"	4:29
14.	"This Fire" (Originally for the WWE Wreckless Intent album)	3:09
15.	"Holy Diver" (Dio cover; originally for Kerrang!'s High Voltage!: A Brief History of Rock compilation)	4:10

Special edition DVD

1. "My Curse" (video)
2. "The Arms of Sorrow" (video)
3. "Holy Diver" (video)
4. Making-of videos for "My Curse" and "The Arms of Sorrow"

Personnel

Killswitch Engage Howard Jones – lead vocals Adam Dutkiewicz – lead guitar, co-lead vocals, keyboards Joel Stroetzel – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Mike D'Antonio – bass Justin Foley – drums Production Adam Dutkiewicz – production, engineering, mixing Ian Neill – assistant engineer at Long View Farm, North Brookfield, Massachusetts Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City Mike D'Antonio – digital design, artwork photography, layout design Daragh McDonagh – group photography

Management Vaughn Lewis and Kenny Gabor for Strong Management Tom Cavanaugh and Chuck Mihlek – road crew Mike Gitter – A&R Mark Scribner – business management at PS Business Management Tim Borror – U.S. booking at The Agency Group Paul Ryan – international booking at The Agency Group

Charts

Chart (2006–2007)	Peak Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33]	29
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[34]	68
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35]	62
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[36]	43
UK Albums (OCC)[37]	64
US Billboard 200[38]	32

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Gold	100,000‡
United States (RIAA)[41]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.