Rating: 7 / 10 Stars
SILENT LINE is: Mike Burton (vocals/guitar), Randy Bergh (guitar), Andy Sidloski (bass), and Adam Kallstrom (drums)
REVIEW – Friends and bandmates going all the way back to high school, Silent Line are back at it again. In a string of recent releases by Canadian metal acts, the Bonnyville, Alberta unit are self-releasing their fourth, full-length album “Shattered Shores”, on October 30, 2015. This release is a concept album about isolation and witnessing the shores of your island eroding slowly. Packed with orchestration, guitar riffs and anthemic choruses, it makes one want to growl along.
Mike Burton, vocalist/guitarist/producer, leads the way, showing that the band remains completely dedicated to making the music that they do; heavy, melodic and orchestral death metal. Drummer Adam Kallstrom, bassist Andy Sidloski, and guitarist Randy Bergh faithfully assist Burton in making the band’s vision a reality. The addition of the legions of loyal fans, and sharing stages with the likes of 3 Inches of Blood, Insomnium, and Dark Tranquility solidify their relevance to creating new metal.
Told from the perspective of one person experiencing the hopelessness and fear of realizing that they are stranded forever, it leaves one sympathizing with the album’s character and his plight to leave his island. References to night, snow, and cold are used (they are Canadian after all) throughout the album adding to the feeling of despair. More melancholic and darker than their previous releases, it doesn’t come off as being overly depressing, but rather, focusing on being triumphant and conquering your inner demons. Each track describes forgotten pasts, uncertain futures, burned and hellish landscapes, and the passing of time. The title-track is divided into two parts- “Shattered Shores I: Timeless Night” tells of “out with the old and in with the new”, while “Shattered Shores II: A New Beginning”, the album’s longest track at just over eight minutes, deals with accepting your past and moving onward. The many musical variations that make up the track, make it not seem that long. The second half of the album is just as dark, with subjects like self-doubt, acceptance of the end, but also to hope, to not be afraid of the future, and to overcome our fear of failure.
For more information on SILENT LINE, visit:
www.SilentLine.band
www.Facebook.com/SilentLineMetal
www.Twitter.com/SilentLineMetal
www.Instagram.com/SilentLineOfficial
www.YouTube.com/SilentLineOfficial
www.Spotify.com/SilentLineOfficial
