Dayseeker- Creature In The Black Night (Album Review)

Dayseeker- Creature In Black Night

Released: 24th of October, 2025 

Lineup: 

Rory Rodriguez // vocals 
Gino Sgambelluri // guitar
Ramone Valerio // bass
Zac Mayfield // drums

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On the cusp of their sixth studio album, Dayseeker have grown more prolific than ever before, enticing audiences with a sultry yet emotionally ignited flair. The band’s upcoming release sees these concepts not just explored, but enhanced, honing in on the elements of their mysteriousness that have made the Southern Californian swooners all the more desirable. Deep within these moments, there is a story to be unveiled, and one that seeps into the core of the human experience, capturing growth in its most sincere format. Creature In The Black Night lurks within a field of haunting beauty, cloaked impulses, and impassioned yearning, seeing Dayseeker morph into a spectre of unwavering individual sound that makes this album one of their most assured and explorative to date. 

The album opens with two of the project's biggest singles, ‘Pale Moonlight’ and ‘Creature In The Black Night’. Ominous and otherworldly, the dark soundscape is brought in with unwavering strength and unmistakable persuasion. Like creaking open the cemetery gates, Dayseeker welcome us to a scene filled with spine-chilling fog and an intense feeling of the unknown, something they audibly render by the inclusion of so many unexpected new features, heavier riffage, and even more gruesome vocals. ‘Creature In The Black Night’ elaborates on this, but infuses the same feeling of watching something like The Lost Boys. It’s scary and gritty, but sensual, arousing things in the strangest of ways. This is a feeling Dayseeker have captured effortlessly within the entirety of this album, with lashings of impulse and devotion running through it as if it were the very heartline of their creation. It is almost jarring how delicate and sensual these tracks can be, whilst still orbiting the same grimness the album visually manifests. 

‍‘Crawl Back To My Coffin’ follows suit, embedding within it some kind of 10’s nostalgia. There is something about that background instrumental that I cannot quite elaborate further on, but it sounds like it's from a much calmer and peaceful time. This, in turn, sees this song permeated with such brightness and elation, despite its harrowing and heartbreaking lyrical imagery. Catchy and flowing with ease, Dayseeker have created an impressive chorus that is sure to be boasted among their catalogue, and has quickly inserted itself into my brain- a yearning and open homage to a love you once thought was endless. It is songs like these that truly engage with vocalist Rory Rodriguez’s unique and charming emotional capacity- a hypnotic tool that finds you captured in the same feelings, just as strong as they presented themselves at the time of writing. And this puppetry is something we have not been safe from for some time, but the dial has been turned up to the maximum within this body of work.  

‘Shapeshift’ is laced with an earnestness that transcends vocally through an invigorated guitarscape that fluctuates within and throughout the main sequence. It is exciting to see moments that instrumentally propel the story forward, but in the case of this album, they work tirelessly to ensure a continuous flow within the album. Nearly halfway, the allusion to the band’s ominous and haunting visual identity remains unwavering, finding a soulful core tie lingering throughout the work, making everything just seem so cohesive. Tracks, such as this one, also propel Dayseeker into some incredibly heavy territory, with the natural and signature serenades possessed by a growling and guttural monster seeking blood and sacrifice- unrelentingly. 

Stripping itself back to the very core form of connection, ‘Soulburn’ removes any expectation of sound, placing an emphasis on vocal prowess and auditory storytelling to infuse the listener with a sense of engagement. It, at moments, may seem a little lacklustre in comparison to its predecessor, but I do think there is a practicality to stripping back down to the roots, removing the whistles, and presenting the emotions and captivating capabilities that people found their safety within throughout the musical growth and sound development of Dayseeker’s journey. Juxtaposing exponentially is the following track, ‘Bloodlust’, that sees the band immediately throw us into the pits of hell. It is like our slow and wandering journey has been halted, meeting the middle of the cemetery as a hand bursts its way from the grave. Dramatic, passionate, and oozing with creepiness, this track has brought back everything I have been loving from this album so far. The undertones of horror conventions and allegories, the sharpness in the vocals and the layering is something to behold. Dayseeker have consciously created one of the most unforeseen concept albums that is so incredibly intoxicating- I cannot get enough. 

‍‘Cemetery Blues’ encases the sandwich of fragility that surrounds ‘Bloodlust’- almost a representation of the feelings that encompass grief; astonishment, anger, acceptance. Despite its more sombre undertones, there is an essence of club and dance that circles in the background, a crying while you’re dancing kind of energy (and that is a feeling Dayseeker have nailed well and truly by now). There is this recurring vocal movement that keeps consuming my thoughts. Presented in the same way throughout many songs with grim utterances, it is almost like the devil himself lurks within these tracks, holding the band hostage before they make their pleas. It is yet another convention that sees this album glide seamlessly. 

If you know anything about me, you will know this next sentence is the highest possible compliment I could ever possibly give something. The instrumentation and beginning moments of ‘Nocturnal Remedy’ is so, so, so Teen Wolf. And I exclusively mean the MTV television series, thank you very much. There has never been such an apt release date for an album, because these tracks are Halloween audibly personified- spooky, kooky, and oddly, nostalgic, yet being so present in their presentation of what the new music scene craves. Without being corny or cheesy, Dayseeker have exemplified what it means to latch onto a feeling and delve in the intricacies of the emotions, experiences, and motifs it conjures. The passion to keep penetrating these themes through the entire album has led to a conviction that has made it more than just a gag, but has solidified it as a conscious and well-thought-out feat of storytelling and design. 

‍‘The Living Dead’ and ‘Meet The Reaper’ are both heartwrenching anthems in their own right. ‘The Living Dead’ embodies this feeling more conventionally, offering listeners a slow and sad track, with Rodriguez initiating the tear-inducing sounds he is often known for. Soft, slow and sentimental, the track is a jarring but welcomed retreat back into the softness and fragility of death, with a moment to respect the near silence around us. It is quite simply beautiful, and is structured simplicity done to perfection. Whilst being a bit more boisterous, ‘Meet The Reaper’ gains this title from its lyricism, each word lathered in a longing that permeates beyond the words spoken, but the clear articulation of feeling and expression that hits your own soul. It’s the type of longing and feeling you could only wish to feel reciprocated in your own circumstance, to be yearned for in this capacity, to be someone's last seven minutes before they die. This song personally made me feel the most, but in that empty gut-wrenching sense. Dayseeker, you have done it again. 

‍Creature In The Black Night concludes with ‘Forgotten Ghost’. It is the perfect representation of breaking away from the feelings that were littered throughout this album; fear, anxiety, aggression, and being stuck in the past, both lyrically and instrumentally boosting the track into a realm of self-assurance and conviction. It is a track that feels like seeing the light, following the narrative scope to its full fruition, and seeing a positive conclusion met. ‘Forgotten Ghost’ lifts the weight of grief off your chest and shows that acceptance can be one of the most glorious feelings within the human experience. Solemn and steadfast, there is a message to be received, held onto, and projected into our own lives. 

‍Creature In The Black Night showcases a novella to the world, seeing Dayseeker unfold chapters in front of our very eyes, unfolding a visual story through carefully crafted auditory movements. Enriched with an unwavering sense of self, this album carries through with it an undeniable message of growth and acceptance, like watching a dead flower bloom again, releasing its oxygen and breathing new life into the garden surrounding it. Despite being drenched in thematic undertones, Creature In The Black Night propels experimental energy and infectious grooves as the band's paramount exploration, allowing creativity and conviction to rise at once. Creepy and undeniably apt for October, Dayseeker have nailed this release in all aspects. As we travel through moments with the band, we grow to learn how we can overcome the scariest of nightmares and the most daunting of life’s challenges, and that is a feat that we can forever hold on to, even beyond the final song. 

Rating: 9/10
Creature In The Black Night is released October 24th via Spinefarm Records. Pre-order the album here! 
Review by Georgia Haskins @ghaskins2002