Dark New Day is certainly not an innovative band. They have never been very creative or very artistic, but they are a band that likes to have a good time. That’s really what their sophomore album, New Tradition, is all about: just having fun.

There are a lot of alternative metal and post-grunge bands that like to have fun, though. The reason some of these bands shine above the others is because of catchy songwriting, fresh ideas and pure musical talent.

Dark New Day definitely has the musical talent to be an outstanding band--the problem with them, though, is that they’re painfully inconsistent and there is nothing new about their music. This results in something that grows stale very quickly.

At first, New Tradition feels really fresh and exciting. “Fist From the Sky” is a great album opener that packs a real punch. Will Hunt’s drums really pop, Clint Lowery’s guitar shredding is killer and Brett Hestla’s voice sounds better than ever before.

The next few tracks follow this trend. “Come Alive” and “I Don’t Need You” continue Dark New Day’s alternative metal rampage in quality form, with aggressive melodies and powerful performances. Technically speaking, these guys are a rock supergroup with members also performing with bands such as Sevendust and Evanescence. And for a brief moment they really do sound “super.”

Then the album starts to tumble. The title track is alright, and from there the music is just so inconsistent, with some songs such as “Sorry” and “Caught in the Light” still sounding good, but with most of the others just sounding really generic and boring.

This music needs to be catchy and have memorable melodies, and only about half of the songs on this album have both of those qualities. For a band that mixes post-grunge with alternative metal, that is a major problem.

This album has a few really enjoyable tunes, but for the most part, New Tradition just isn’t very memorable. Dark New Day is a band that likes to have a good time though, and I suppose as long as they have a solid following and the band members that take pleasure in what they’re doing, then they should keep trying to deliver the perfect Dark New Day effort.