Silent Voices - Chapters of Tragedy
Low frequency Records - LFR314018 - 2002
By Paddy Walsh
Behold Silent Voices! Yet another grunt in the ever swelling ranks of the 'prog-metal' corp. Help us. I'm not quite sure what happened between 1974 and now that caused the word 'progressive' to lose it's actual meaning and come to represent a bunch of pompous 'virtuosos' playing scales on their instruments as fast as possible, but it hasn't been a pretty sight on the old prog front. Silent Voices, while not as atrocious as some of their peers (such as the risible Nemesis) are far from great, and further highlight a metal sub-genre that seems to base every single song on Dream Theater's Metropolis... album.
So, Chapters of Tragedy then. The music. It's prog metal in its most jaded form. Dream Theater-lite. Need I say more? Fine, then I will; the guitars are at least satisfyingly heavy, but that alone cannot save the absolute dearth of originality on this album. Dream Theater-lite I call it, because these Finns obviously don't possess the technical skills of their idols, yet attempt to ape them all the same. Because of the sterility of the music, all of their attempts at making the vocals/lyrics seem deep/emotional simply come across as overly calculated and contrived.
So if you're looking for a band with all of Dream Theater's worst traits (annoying vocals, songwriting sacrificed for technicality etc) but none of their positives, then Silent Voices are for you. As for me, I think I'll just stick to 'prog' that is actually progressive thank you very much.
3/10
Silent Voices' Official Site
Low Frequency Records' Official Site
Low frequency Records - LFR314018 - 2002
By Paddy Walsh
Behold Silent Voices! Yet another grunt in the ever swelling ranks of the 'prog-metal' corp. Help us. I'm not quite sure what happened between 1974 and now that caused the word 'progressive' to lose it's actual meaning and come to represent a bunch of pompous 'virtuosos' playing scales on their instruments as fast as possible, but it hasn't been a pretty sight on the old prog front. Silent Voices, while not as atrocious as some of their peers (such as the risible Nemesis) are far from great, and further highlight a metal sub-genre that seems to base every single song on Dream Theater's Metropolis... album.
So, Chapters of Tragedy then. The music. It's prog metal in its most jaded form. Dream Theater-lite. Need I say more? Fine, then I will; the guitars are at least satisfyingly heavy, but that alone cannot save the absolute dearth of originality on this album. Dream Theater-lite I call it, because these Finns obviously don't possess the technical skills of their idols, yet attempt to ape them all the same. Because of the sterility of the music, all of their attempts at making the vocals/lyrics seem deep/emotional simply come across as overly calculated and contrived.
So if you're looking for a band with all of Dream Theater's worst traits (annoying vocals, songwriting sacrificed for technicality etc) but none of their positives, then Silent Voices are for you. As for me, I think I'll just stick to 'prog' that is actually progressive thank you very much.
3/10
Silent Voices' Official Site
Low Frequency Records' Official Site
