Silent Planet are a band whose searing honesty and emotional intensity has transformed them from a good band into a great one. Melding the crushing musical fluidity of their ranks with a gut-wrenchingly candid lyrical approach creates not only an impact but also a feeling, and itâs powerful enough to travel through you. Their delivery hit an all-time high on 2019âs âWhen The End Beganâ, and brand new album âIridescentâ sees them weave a whole new series of tales through their metallic tapestry.
As the industrial-sounding â1-1-2â slowly intensifies and builds the anticipation with its bellowing drones, âTranslate The Nightâ arrives and kicks the record off in perfect Silent Planet style. Irregular stabs, eerie atmospherics and the unmistakable vocal power of front man Garrett Russell all burst into action, guiding you through a series of big riffs and bigger choruses that show theyâre picking up exactly where they left off. As the record progresses, though, it becomes quickly clear that theyâre doing a little bit more than that.
âSecond Sunâ sees them lean a little harder into their melodic side, using borderline frantic riffing and the dual vocal attack of Russell and bassist/vocalist Thomas Freckleton to drive its gigantic chorus skyward. âTill We Have Facesâ is a taste of something similar, starting as a gentle lullaby and gradually morphing into an anthemic giant. Then thereâs âTerminalâ, a track that beautifully tells the heart-wrenching tale of Russellâs battle with despair and hopelessness which is one of the spine-tingling highlights of the album. There is of course plenty of heaviness to be found here too, and itâs just as weighty and destructive as itâs ever been.
The futuristic electronic undertones of âPanopticonâ create an unhinged and unsettling vibe that turns the track into a ticking time-bomb, and when it explodes you find yourself completely enveloped by the blast. âTrilogyâ is a masterclass in intensity, with drummer Alex Camarena drastically and masterfully adjusting the dynamics at moments notice for maximum impact and rocketing them towards the concluding cataclysmic breakdown. Then thereâs Mitchell Starkâs relentless guitar assault on âAnhedoniaâ, the ominous darkness within âThe Sound Of Sleepâ (which feels like a successor to the previous recordâs âVanity of Sleepâ), the technical magnificence, unpredictable brutality and cries of âfuck the systemâ on âAlive, as a Housefireâ – if youâre already a fan, youâll be lapping up every second of this.
However – and itâs a very minor point – the pace is very up and down. Just as the record feels like itâs getting into its stride it changes and though every track can strongly stand alone, as a whole often feels like the flow of the punches sometimes fall out of rhythm. This is still a brilliant record though, without a doubt, and if youâre a fan of the genre this needs to be an instant add to your must-listen list.
This album is every bit as impressive as you couldâve hoped for, frequently flooding your senses with insatiable colours and washing them away to reveal the bleak, stark themes hiding behind them. The music is gushing with technical precision and beautiful textural nuances, but itâs Russellâs lyrics and delivery that steal the show, poetically exorcising his demons and spilling himself all over the canvas that his band are holding up for him. Everything might musically sound like itâs a little brighter, but thematically itâs just as devastating as ever, and you feel every ounce of the pain thatâs on display.
âIridescentâ is wonderfully paced and very neatly balanced, stepping into slightly different territory by spending a lot less time basking in the darkness that their past material championed. Thatâs not to say that this isnât a heavy album – it absolutely is – but the heaviness isnât relied on as much, and the end result is far more expansive. We wouldâve been happy to get another album like âWhen The End Beganâ, and though this doesnât pack the same cohesive blow itâs wonderful to see them continue to evolve and introduce new elements to their sound. Modern day metalcore doesnât get much better than this.
DAVE STEWART