Apoch's Metal Review - My Silent Wake / The Drowning: Black Lights & Silent Roads CD Review

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
My Silent Wake
Full-Length(s):	Shadow of Sorrow (2006) • The Anatomy of Melancholy (2007) • A Garland of Tears (2008) • IV Et Lux Perpetua (2010)
EP(s):	My Silent Wake (2005)
Split(s):	Black Light & Silent Roads
Compilation(s):	Rare and Live Recordings. Vol.1 (2011)
The Drowning
Full-Length(s):	When the Light was Taken from Us (2006) • This Bleak Descent (2008) • Fall Jerusalem Fall (2011)
EP(s):	Withered (2005)
Split(s):	Black Light & Silent Roads

Review

Split releases are usually the product of one band being friends with another, or sharing members, and wanting to put something out as a joint venture. That, or perhaps a record label is just looking for major or unsigned bands to come together and put a track or two onto a limited pressing release. In the case of Black Lights & Silent Roads, it's that the bands happen to be friends and respect one another's works. That's the way this one is in the case of My Silent Wake and The Drowning. Each band contributed four songs to this split, which amazingly clocks in at roughly seventy three minutes. But, can these two acts keep this one hour plus recording entertaining give the length of some songs that appear here?

First up is My Silent Wake. The audio quality here is clearly of a higher, modern value that let's the instruments come through pretty clean. However, that crisper quality works with the music the band plays to create a rather haunting yet hold a gothic, artistic beauty at times that simply feels cold and melancholic. The guitars have a sharper distortion to them, and the bass can be heard sometimes in the mix, but for the most part it does feel a bit drowned out. This unfortunately leads to the music itself sounding a bit empty, especially with the less then filling drumming that appears in this section, though the slower pace is required given the cold and often trudging material. Musically, the group clearly has some good ideas, but the final product of their four entries ends up rather weak in the long run since none of the songs really have a full, rich audio sound to them. But, when the band is going in a less electric manner with their instruments, it works out. "Devout of Light," the cover of the The Drowning original, ends up sounding pretty good despite all that due to the more acoustic performance and haunting echoes that appear on the vocals that give it a truly Gothic vibe. This track is a little different then the rest of the offerings vocally as they are performed as gutturals for the most part, but a higher pitch, making "Devout of Light" a drastic change for the band overall.

While that cover is perhaps the better song of the recording, simply due to how the more acoustic performance works with the not-so-pleasing audio quality, you can't sit back and say the other offerings on this split from My Silent Wake are bad. That additional melancholid beauty the band nicely sets the group apart from a traditional Doom influenced Death Metal group such as Novembers Doom, or even with some of the earlier material by the more Progressive Opeth. Sure, not having a deeper sound to accomany the material does hold the songs back, but "I Am (Eternity)" ends up being a strong cover song none the less, and if you can look past the audio faults, you can find the shimmering aspects of the group's music. The cold feeling of the song is overwhelming with the deathly march-like drumming and haunting guitars that appear more to drive the atmosphere for the first two minutes before the song picks up in it's intensity more through the guitars playing a more pivotol role with additional riffs against the now guttural male vocals and some background accompanying clean singing. That marching pace never stops, and just seems to continue building slightly through the song, such as the addition of some wind effects in the background to keep the listener attentive until it hits that final note. It's not the most jaw dropping song, but the way the band builds on it does work well enough. "Bleak Endless Winter," however, is more a traditional song then that, and shows what the group's original song potential is. Again, the gothic haunting atmospheres are present, and the pace shifts quite often from some more marching guitar chords against haunting, melodic moments that can drop into slower passages that feel a bit more intimidating, though don't really feel too strong as far as the transitions in and out go. The guttural vocals here sound a lot strong and even ghostly thanks to the echo effect placed on them, and the generally dismal music accompanying them. It makes for a far more impressive song in the long run then "Devout of Light" or "I Am (Eternity)," largely because it's an original, but it takes plenty of the things that made both covers good and put them to work on a harsher, far more atmospheric song.

However, the last song My Silent Wake puts into this compilation is "Rebirth," which clocks in at over twenty three and a half minutes, is definitely something worth checking out. The early Doom influence is here, but with the additional keyboards and slower pace, sometimes you cannot help but feel you're also listening to a Stoner Rock track. The music definitely sets up the mood that it could easily take you away if you give it a chance, but again that audio quality issue does seep into it, holding the song back a bit from really being something spectacular. The gothic beauty of the previous tracks isn't really as strong here either, but when it does show it sounds good. Much of this feels like an early eighties Gothic wave band, but with a bit of a Death Metal twist to it through some heavier chords to that style making their way in, as well as the additional guttural vocals that appear. But no matter how you look at it, the song does end up pulling off what it's meant to do and holds the listener's interest the first time around, though there's nothing all that outstanding about the release that really calls for an additional spin through the track anytime soon.

While My Silent Wake's contributions may not be the most astounding, but do show a band with some good ideas that were hindered largely from production value issues, there's also The Drowning's set to check out next. The audio to this is noticably different. Though it still bares the cleaner production value that My Silent Wake had, the bass here is a little more apparent in the mix and gives the songs a bit of a stronger kick in comparison, as well as feels a little more muffled, though on purpose for atmospheric sake, then the previous set of tracks. This is good considering the musical concepts of the two bands are rather similar thanks to the gothic beauty they both have, though The Drowning feels far tighter and much more darker and dismal in comparison.It immediately becomes obvious with "The Doomsdare Feire," starting off this four song set nicely with haunting music that has an icier feeling to it for much of the song, and a decent transition into a much more blunt sound a little past the halfway point where the sharp sounding guitars take over a bit more to work with the haunting keyboards in an effort to weave a little more of a sinister sounding conclusion.

This more darker and unforgiving sound from The Drowning really becomes impressive with the song "Silent Epiphany." While "Arc Light" is a decent slower paced track, it doesn't offer much other thent he band trying to weave a more bludgeoning in desolate sort of atmosphere that doesn't quite work out in the long run, but still offers an enjoyable experience a few times through, and "The Doomsday Feire" is a great song no matter how you look at it. However, "Silent Epiphany" carries a much stronger Death Metal vibe to it with plenty of great catchy chords that work superbly with the haunting atmosphere creating by the keyboards for the bridges. The main verses really show the bands ability to maintain that darker sound without the keyboards, which isn't shocking, but really just makes the song stronger without feeling like the band is resorting to instruments outside of the norm for the style to get the mood of the song across to the listener. The closing to the track also feels rather grand and built up nicely to the match the rather melancholic sound of the music, not in an epic manner, but in a very subtle melodic means that really grabs at anyone within range of the song. But, this group's interpretation of My Silent Wake's "A Photograph" is also commendable and worth taking note of. The subtle beauty of the original track is captured well with a slightly darker edge to the original that just makes it a fantastic homage to their friends across the way of the UK.

In the end, while My Silent Wake suffers from some audio quality issues that feel a little too higher in pitch overall compared to the latter set by The Drowning, there's really no reason these groups should be overlooked. Black Lights & Silent Roads are two rather unique atmospheric bands coming together for a split effort that's worth taking notice of. While the final set from The Drowning feels more representative of their qualities, especially if you happen to be new to both of these bands, there's no denying that this release leaves you wanting to hear more from both groups. With the overall length of the album being over seventy three minutes, and much of this release being solid material, fans of Death and Doom Metal will surely find plenty to sit back and enjoy on here, making this an album that's definitely worth paying the sticker price for with it's quality reflecting in the quantity of music. If you haven't heard these two bands yet, then now's the perfect chance to do it at once. Black Lights & Silent Roads may not be the most amazing split available for this style, but it does it's job well of offering some good music that peaks the interest of those involved within the listener.

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	Physical review copy of this release provided by: Bombworks Records.

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