Silent Planet have released their third LP When The End Began last week, and true to form, the heavy outfit from California has crafted an album that separates them from the traditional roles and routines of their genre. The release carries a certain weight with it due in part to an eerie atmosphere injected into every song paired with the thought-provoking lyrics that have now become a staple of the band. When The End Began is a power statement from a group that has clawed their way to success with hard work and ingenuity, a statement that promises a revitalizing future for the genre.
In an interview with RockSound, vocalist Garrett Russell spoke about how he wanted this album to resemble the apocalyptic end that he and many of the influences he borrows from feel humanity is not only hurdling towards, but has faced over and over again in a recurring cycle. If you have listened to any of the previous releases, you will know that they have all employed wonderfully crafted lyrics on themes of abstract biases and suffering in history on The Night God Slept to a more personal struggle of psyches and human conditions in Everything Was Sound. Now, the band focus on the struggles of humanity and the issues they deal with as the apocalyptic end has drawn near. Thus Spoke opens the album with an atmosphere of tragic beauty as he crescendo rises and bursts into screams stating that “The night God slept everything was sound”. Listeners will be led to song number two, The New Eternity, which gives us a familiar heaviness with some nice fretwork from guitarist Mitch Stark. The song digs deep with themes taken from the Vietnam War. The familiarity begins to fade as we get some clean vocals from bassist Thomas Frecks that are much improved since the last release of Everything Was Sound. The most appealing part of his vocal performance is that it is not some sort of layered vocal work, but rather uses the atmosphere of the album as an enhancement that takes his natural raw talent and magnifies it. Unfortunately, the immense upgrade in vocals is so good that the guitar work, tuned lower than previous albums to contribute to the atmosphere, struggles to set the best scene for Garrett and Thomas to sing over. A positive of this instrumental sound is that Garrett seems to find his way to line up with grooves on songs like Northern Fires which brings the historical devastation of Guernica during WWII to life.The final breakdown in this song sends chills down my spine every time. Afterdusk keeps the pace of the album going with lyrics stating “The violence we love, it’s cyclical. We rise and we fall; it’s inevitable”. Amid this impressive start, the album attempts to use interludes to add to the overall atmosphere, something that I feel only creates long pauses between the songs. More often than not I skip these. Vanity of Sleep quickly puts you back on track with a catchy opening riff that launches forward with Garrett’s powerful lyrics that rage against the greed of consumerism. Now, I’m usually not one for songs on metal albums where the clean vocalist is the key feature, but In Absence may be the exception. In this 3 and a half minute long song, Frecks croons his way through a soft verse that makes its way into a raspy, raw chorus. This is a song that reaches the heights of the overarching theme that the band put in place with such power without having to rely on aggressive vocals until close to the end of the song. Share the Body, my personal favorite, has a great base line that connects beautifully with Russell’s schizophrenic style of vocals as he screams a tale of the opioid epidemic that runs through our world. Another big highlight that manifests itself on this song is that Garrett has started using low screams that I never knew he could hit. I really hope he continues using them because they are intense. The rest of the album features the more experimental songs that keep the album running at a wonderful pace while also hitting closer to the intricate guitar work that has made them so popular with songs like Lower Empire and Depths III, that are a big part of why When the End Began is going to be successful and maybe even album of the year.
Top Songs: Northern Fires(Guernica), Share the Body, Lower Empire.
New Music with Brady 