Release: Mind Games
Release Date: 23/04/12
The first thing that draws you to this album, isn’t the band’s name, it isn’t the incredible mix of trance and metal into one really odd but working concoction, it is in fact the album cover, which includes the smoking hot Vikki Blows. But if this is enough to bring horny boys to listen to it, then it’s done its job. It is an incredible and unique album, which sounds like it’ll find it’s feet live more than on record.
Their self proclaimed genre is, and always has been, Trance Metal, something not many bands have managed to successfully combine before, and when Trance Metal is brought up in conversation, with that conversation obviously being what is the most obscure genre you can think of, then Silent Descent should be the first band to pop into anyone’s heads. ‘Mind Games’ will be the Kent lad’s second studio album, growing in size and talent; they will soon be taking the world by storm.
The album opens with an impressive double up of the intro track ‘Overture’ into the opening full length track ‘Psychotic Euphoria’, and if there was to be any track that would prove to you what Silent Descent is all about, it is this one. Moving from a very trance opening, and swiftly turning the explosive beats up to 11, hitting you right in the chest and telling you that this is one album that no fan of metal is going to be able to resist. There isn’t a single band at the same height as Silent Descent, unless you move into, and compare them to the melodic death metal scene that is all over the Scandinavian countries.
There is definitely a distinct sound that the band is going for, but the songs in the album can start bleeding into one another, not being able to truly tell the difference from one song to another. This isn’t trying to take away from what is an incredible album; they have the sound their looking for and a couple of standout tracks like ‘Coke Stars’, and the more trance orientated ‘Devoid’, but in all it seems to be more of a live sound that they’re going for more than an on record sound. There is no denying that they’ve always put on stellar shows, and their sound quite easily relates over to it, but they have some work to do before becoming a perfect on-record band.
Becoming a favourite for the Download crowd and playing a number of shows this year, live is where you’re going to get the most out of the new album.
Reviewer: Callum Thomson
