Weeping Silence - For the unsung 4/5
Reviewed: 5-1-13
Tracklist:
1. Mourning sighs farewell
2. Love lies bleeding
3. Disillusioned
4. Mire of pity
5. Search within
6. Fallen from grace
7. Bitter screams
8. Your darkest hour
9. My possession
|
Weeping Silence is a melodic gothic/doom metal band from Malta and this is their 3rd studio CD. Generally their arrangements are heavy, busy and dense with an emphasis on mid-paced riffs and percussion rather than melody, although this is sprinkled throughout using clean guitar solos, occasional backing keys and, most of all, excellent vocal arrangements. This approach gives the songs a dramatic, epic, intense feel rather than a catchy, accessible one, which is all the more enhanced by frequent light syncopation in the rhythms. This represents a somewhat ambitious style of gothic/doom metal and its success for fans of these genres depends heavily on whether the vocal melodies provide sufficient hooks to keep the listener engaged.
The vocals are “beauty and the beast” style courtesy of husband and wife team Joseph and Rachel Grech (both of whom left the band after this release). Rachel is a strong, expressive often quite penetrating mezzo-soprano whose vocal stylings often remind me of Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation. Joseph’s growls are intense and deep, though mild and almost atmospheric in delivery, and they provide a nice counterpoint to Rachel’s vocals; indeed, there is frequent interplay between them, sort of musical dialogs. Though occasionally outright catchy, the vocal arrangments are usually full of passion and earnest intensity, mesmerizingly so sometimes... and they do indeed supply the hooks needed to hold the listener’s attention throughout ‘For the unsung’.
Weeping Silence showed promise on their first 2 CDs, which were very strongly influenced by Within Temptation; although well-done, they lacked originality and suffered from poor production. Not so for ‘For the unsung’; the production, while not stellar, is clear and heavy, and Weeping Silence have now forged a fairly distinct songwriting approach. There are still easily discernible influences from Within Temptation, especially ‘Enter’ and ‘The dance’, but ‘For the unsung’ is much busier and more complex than either of those CDs; moreover, they also have a knack for the dramatic, especially in the vocal interplays, that strongly reminds me of Draconian. Weeping Silence have blended these well-known styles into a refreshing and quite successful recipe of their own and are recommended for fans of gothic/doom metal that don’t mind exercising a little more patience than usual to absorb the music.
CHRIS
MORE REVIEWS... FULL REVIEWS
MORE REVIEWS BY CHRIS... CHRIS
MAIN -
A -
B -
C -
D -
E -
F -
G -
H -
I -
J -
K -
L -
M -
N -
O -
P -
Q -
R -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y -
Z -
MISC
Email: metalcdratings@yahoo.com
