Silent Screams, one of the UK’s most promising acts, have never really hit off. Turbulence off-stage has prevented them from firing on all cylinders, and many of their previous screams have fallen on deaf ears. Having now finally settled, they are ready to back up 2013’s The Way We Were EP with Hope For Now, their second full length effort, which is the product of an established band on an established label. Ultimately, it’s a product of stability.
‘Hollow Hearts’ eases the record in, with both contributing vocalists Joel Heywood and Tom Craig getting an equal share of the opening seconds. It’s British Metalcore in its most refined form, oscillating pacey riffs with punishing breakdowns, and sporadically sprinkling melody amongst growls. Things then get even heavier on the first single, ‘Eightysix’. Guitars are down-tuned, a djent-y twang adds groove to the verses, and the overlaying atmospherics are darker, yet the soaring chorus’ still have a strong foothold on the overall definition of the track.
It’s then dropped down another notch on ‘Death Kiss’ and ‘Letting Go‘, plummeting to some of the darkest Deathcore the British scene will hear this year. It’s quite ballsy of the band to explore this territory, but the professional production from the ever-familiar Joey Sturgis adds weight to their confident delivery.
There’s one thing that is difficult to ignore, though. Most of what is good about this record is good about the genre, not necessarily about them. It’s easy to recognise other bands in this album, from Bury Tomorrow to Chelsea Grin, which will do enough to secure their place in the saturated scene, but is unlikely to earn them much of a spotlight. Hope For Now will slot nicely in the record collection, but over time, it may gather dust.
