SilentLie – Equilibrium
Release Date: 30th September 2022
Label: Rockshots
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Genre: Dark Metal, Dark Rock, Gothic Metal, Gothic Rock, Melodic Metal.
FFO: Ozzy Osbourne, The Cure, Bauhaus, Ghost.
Review By: Mark Waight
Equilibrium by SilentLie is a beautifully dark and melancholy album with a fantastic melodic metal undertone to it. Emotions run deeply through each track of Equilibrium bringing both sorrow and joy to your ears in equal measures through lovely soundwaves.
Equilibrium deals with the constant struggles between good and evil by swinging the music pendulum between gothic rock/metal and something much darker. SilentLie hail from Trieste in Italy, they feel and sound like a much more accomplished band than their two albums would suggest. As soon as you listen to Equilibrium, you will understand exactly what I mean, their craft is sublime. The female vocals throughout Equilibrium are both very haunting and darkly divine, giving this album a real advantage over anything else out there. If you like your music on the gloomy side of life, you will absolutely love this album!
Divided gets the show on the road with a richly dark and heavy riff, whilst all the time something a little lighter is happening in the background. On My Skin picks up the pace, with a much more traditional metal arrangement and some awesome sing-along vocals.
Something to Remember reminded me of something very dark, 80s and Gothic with a Post Punk edge, again, coming with a massive chorus to boot. Taste of Solitude keeps the momentum going with a heavy bass riff, loads of attitude and a very wicked vocal hook – superb!
The One Who Disappears is a slow, haunting anthem with a dash of despair and gloom thrown in. The chilling guitar playing really accentuates the atmosphere of the album, and creates a lovely middle piece on the album.
Title track Equilibrium has a solitary clock ticking at the beginning that draws us into a wall of sound and a lovely retro musical treat that will get your heart pounding. Hysteria is a disturbing song with a killer riff that reminded me so much of Bauhaus or the Cure of old, with a SilentLie spin on it!
Modern Paradox lets rip with a blistering pace and air thumping vocals to get you jumping about, what a great tune.
The Others is slow and melodic, the piano playing leans more into classical territory, and the vocal harmonies are dreamily dark and melancholic. This gloomy track just about shades it as my favourite, but in truth, I loved them all.
World Upside Down is the curtain closer, with the organ playing added to the heavy bass riff it creates a deep dark musical hole that consumes you and leaves you reaching for the play button again and again.
There was not a single track I did not like or enjoy on Equilibrium, and it is an album I could listen too again and again. SilentLie have accomplished a rare feat by creating something very special, and long may it continue.
(4.5 / 5)
