(Gothic/Doom Metal) Weeping Silence - End Of An Era - 2008, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Maltese metal isn’t on the tips of everyone’s tongue... Weeping Silence do not ooze chaotic charm, the band do exhibit a delectable charm and class that keeps them a cut above the rest with their seemingly gothic inspired branch of doom metal that incorporates a variety of influences and divine instrumentation, from the accessible bass that sways slowly close to the ground, to the floating female vocals that come across so airy and exquisite. Hopefully the title for this debut isn’t suggesting anything with the use of subtleties. "End Of An Era" is just the beginning of this majestic bands career, with any luck. This is a strong start to life in metal, though it would seem a number of past and present musicians have had some experience with the genre before, which is an important factor in the overall sound of the band. Experience might not be everything if you have exceptional musicians to carry the music forward, but since Weeping Silence are about subtle effects and moving progressionist themes, pretension and being forward in terms of pushing the instrumentations ability on to the listener are not what the band want to do. Experience is vital in other forms here. The band have some mature heads on their shoulders, allowing them to manufacture a style that is unique to themselves and themselves alone, despite the fact that we, the listener, may be able to suggest possible influences.
Given the fact that Weeping Silence has a number of musicians present within the band, including two vocalists, two guitarists, a violinist and a keyboardist, the levels of musicianship allow the band to allow each musician his or her own specific role, even if it does come across as slightly synthetic and excessive. For the most part, it doesn’t even feel like Weeping Silence use as many musicians as they do, especially in reference to the vocalists. The female vocals are present throughout, whilst the male vocals are largely sparse and ominous. In my opinion, the male vocals aren’t really required. They don’t suit the style of the band, nor do they fit the content. For example, the clean, and rather operatic female vocals compliment the keyboards, which set down a symphonic base and alongside the progressive sounding guitars, the vocals are perfectly fitted between all the cogs in this generally well thought through machine. There are some areas that feel incomplete and overly excessive, without ever pressing the listener, which is a concern. The fact that there are two guitarists, for example. There need not be two because one would be sufficient enough to play this generally slow paced and clean style of gothic inspired doom metal alone.
The second guitarist does what most do within this field, simply engage the listener with an even cleaner guitar but seeing as other elements do this, and better, it seems almost inferior and unworthy of inclusion. The bass, which is distinctly audible, the harmonious female vocals and the exceptional keyboards which oddly contain the most emotive passages, allowing the listener to sway along to this classically inspired section, feeling every twist and turn of the divinity that pushes through the hollow guitars. Having never heard Weeping Silence before this debut full-length, I cannot judge the bands previous material, which was written several years before this came out in 2008. There have been former musicians, as stated, so obviously the sound wasn’t working out as it once was. It sounds clear and concise now, with a lot of emphasis of subtle elements like the bass and keyboards, both of which are key to the soundscapes and the conjuration of the moving songs. The vocalist reminds me of a number of gothic based vocalists from other bands. Her voice is distinctive, but classic of the genre which Weeping Silence apparently don’t play in (which I find hard to believe having heard this largely gothic based music). I wouldn’t suggest that this is as special as they come, but its good enough to warrant praise in certain specific areas. I’ll be interested to see where they go from here. From Malta and beyond!
(c) Perplexed_Sjel /metal-archives.com/