SI.VM E.T A.V.VM

After releasing their second full-length album Altum, Silentium hit again the shelves with this EP, SI.VM E.T A.V.VM (Silentium Est Aurum, “silence is golden” in Latin). It contains four tracks, for just a little over 20 minutes of music. All tracks are cut out of the same recording sessions at Studio Watercastle where Altum was recorded. Two of the tracks are previously unreleased, while the other two are re-arranged and re-recorded versions of songs that had first appeared on the band’s first two demo tapes (“Grieving Beauty” appeared on the 1996 demo Illacrimõ and “Lament” on the 1998 demo Caméne Misera).

Stylistically, the EP sits halfway between the classically influenced doom/gothic metal of Silentium’s 1999 debut LP (Infinita Plango Vulnera) and the leaner symphonic gothic metal of their sophomore record, Altum. The two previously unreleased tracks lean more towards the sonic style of Altum. “Apart” is a nice, catchy gothic piece that plays on the alternation between male croon, female soprano vocals and grim but melodic blackened growls. Silentium have always impressed me for their lush and classy symphonic arrangements and “Apart” offers another great example of the band’s great ear for writing classically influenced metal music. The orchestral breakdown half through the song, where organ and violin are left alone to play against each other, is both surprising and exhilarating, and adds a new, exciting dimension to an otherwise fairly ordinary song. The other new song “I Bleed for…” is less impressive. It’s another blackened gothic piece that is however somewhat lacking in the vocal department, with singer Matti Aikio battling unsuccessfully against the bland and weak melodies he is given to sing. The arrangements are also not quite as smooth as in other tracks, the song’s different sections not flowing very well into one another.

The two re-recorded songs are instead more similar in style to the material we find on the band’s debut LP, Infinita Plango Vulnera. These are the tracks that I like the most. The level of sophistication in the instrumental arrangements is breath-taking. Take the beginning of “Grieving Beauty”: a sombre clean guitar arpeggio starts the song, and is quickly accompanied by a delicate piano arpeggio and Tiina Lehvonen’s wordless soprano singing. The rest of the band joins soon afterwards, the violin and the lead guitar introducing beautiful counterpoint melodies that will form the main classical theme of the song. It’s the best instrumental passage of the whole album and shows the great songwriting and arranging ability of this Finnish ensemble. It’s just a pity that, vocally, the song is a bit weak, with Matti Aikio struggling again to find a strong melody to sing. Things get definitely better on “Lament”, probably the best track on the EP. The instrumental beginning of the song is again stunning, the violin and the lead guitar perfectly laid over a beautiful melancholic arpeggio. Tiina Lehvonen takes the lead on this song, with a good, catchy melody both in the verse and the chorus. Matti Aikio contributes blackened growls that play nicely against Tina’s ethereal soprano-like vocals, in perfect beauty-and-the-beast style. The second half of the song introduces multiple instrumental breaks, adding complexity and substance to an already magnificent song.

All in all, this is a very pleasant EP, nicely bridging Silentium’s early classical/baroque doom sound with the slightly more commercial symphonic gothic style the band pursued in the rest of their discography. As I am a big fan of the band’s debut album Infinita Plango Vulnera, I am quite fond of this EP that, in at least half of its compositions, harks back to the heavily classically influenced doom of the debut LP. I may even prefer this to Altum, which I find perhaps a tad too convoluted and difficult to get into. Either way, whether you are a fan of Silentium’s early or late sound, this little record will not disappoint.

Doom isn't always doom even if the music has the components to make it doom. The odd thing about this release from Silentium is that even though it is in many ways a doom release, there are so many gothic influences that on overall it sounds more like a gothic band than a doom band. This shouldn't scare away those who like gothic doom. It is still a doom band, but you will get more gothic than most gothic doom bands offer. This is much due to the symphonic touches that aura the album with midnight blue colours. It is for a reason that most of the fans of Silention come from outside the doom community. But the most intense worshipers are those who love "beauty and the beast" doom/gothic with an intense romantic feeling. Few doom bands win any non-doom prizes, but Silentium already has several. Thus I conclude that even though Silentium might seem to be an aquired taste, it's beauty and multitude creates the opposite. Silentium is a band that could gain quite some fame if they want to.

The music relies on the weeping melodic guitars and bass to make the distorted heavy sound that is so to the core doom. On the other hand the melodic guitar works just as much together with the mid paced drums and the serene violin to create a very gothic feeling. All of it creates a rich melody which even though sad and melancolic, still reaches upwards towards the sky in angelic movements of beauty. Yet in all of it there is a slightly down to earth motion which puts the final touch to the feeling of standing on the ground while stretching the arms towards the heavens. One of the best ways to picture it is a Romeo and Juliet setting where tragedy and oppositions gover, only dominated by the intense and massive love that runs through them. This is the kind of music that is ment to be silently enjoyed with chills along the spine as the music reaches ever higher.

This is truly a beauty and the beast band even though it is the vocals of the male that dominates. He varies from dark, romantic and clear vocals to depressed growls. Sometimes there is even a second male vocalist aiding. On the other hand is the angelic female vocals which truly is the most serene of all the touches on the EP. All of the vocals rise the majesty of the music more and more even though they never sound strained. The lyrics speak of the classic cases of unhappy romances which end up in tragedy. Poems of the same kind as the romantic era. Yet all is sacrificed for the loved one to live happily. And as so often happends with love this tragic, the leaving of this world, suicide, is a major theme. If ones own life becomes a problem this big for the one true love of ones life, no sacrifices are too big. In honor of those we love, we also choose to give our life.

Interpreatation of the tracks:
-Apart: is the only one of the tracks which can be considered to be more gothic than doom. The bass plays little role in the music. Instead the music trots along in a mid tempoed pace. A piano and violin solo is the only calm part in the song as instead of focusing on letting the doom elements shine through, the track focuses on a high flyin aura. A few riffs of true doom does shine through in the middle though. The song is a plea. A plea for the loved one to stay. For the one which has made the world good, not to turn away. The world would be such an empty place without that person. As grief spreads as a panic inside the words the loved one has said, sinks in and runs out through the eyes.

-Grieving Beauty (Remake): begins calmly with a guitar solo, soon to be supported by a piano and the serene female voice. Then the thypical rich sound of violin with weeping guitars and doomy bass sets in to create the sound that dominates most of the rest of the EP. Calmer sections give the track a sorrowful feeling while never completely letting go of the majestic. The lyrics is of a lady which is in a lot of emotional pain, and of the one who stands the closest to her. He experiences first hand the torment which runs through her as she cries. He might be trying to comfort her while loving her so dearly that the pain is drawn into himself too. But she is a grieving beauty and that leads me to believe that it is him which she grieve for, and he feels her pain on the other side.

-I Bleed For...: is harder than the other tracks. Heavy riffs dominate whole sections of the track accompanied by dark growls. One part towards the end is a high paced part with two growled vocals speaking two different things at the same time. Other parts are the thypical blend of doom/gothic that the remake of Grieving Beauty demonstrated. And then in the middle is one of those calm yet sad parts with violinlike synths playing in the background to heighten the effect of the violin itself. The track is a tale of sorrowful love where one hurts the other. Some of the lyrics are in latin and speak a more clear message of death. A sacrifice of oneself to the darkness for the other to live on.

-Lament (Remake): A second beginning with a guitar and piano solo which turns over into the more epic. The track has a lot of calm moments in it, but also symphonic trips into the soaring heights. It is in general a little slower than mid tempo. As the track progresses the heights climb upwards into a stratospheric height of serenity. The whole track is one long wish. A wish to leave this world. Even though the wish is suicidal there is more longing than depression. The longing is the wish for a better place manifested in an emotion. Higher and higher it goes and the spirit is released bit by bit. The worldly life is left behind. The loved one has been set free of the pain one has caused. Eternity awaits in it's beautiful motions. And the spirit is free to fly completely painless.