Silent Lapse
Birthright
7
The debut release from Silent Lapse isn’t necessarily difficult to categorize, ingest, or, most importantly, listen to. So it’s a mystery why it’s taken me so long to put the proverbial pen to paper and tell you all about it. Although it did take a couple of listens to really sink in, the basic idea is this: the band plays what is more or less a mellow form of progressive metal that moves seamlessly in and out of the heavier moments. Think of Opethian/Dream Theater-esque song structures played in a Porcupine Tree style with a vocalist that is equal parts Mikael Akerfeldt and Pasi Koskinen (ex-Amorphis), except that the vocals are all clean.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about Silent Lapse is that they do all this without getting too pretentious or wanky. You’re not going to find two minute guitar solos or kitchen sink passages here, just strong musicianship with flowing song structures. On tracks like “A New Melody” and “Final Error,” the band goes through various tempo changes while maintaining their overall feel. Then they can put the pedal to the floor and blow your mind with some blistering sections as heard in “The Wake” and “Seed of Hope.”
You don’t necessarily have to take my word for it, though. The band wants you to hear this so badly that they have made the full album available for free download at their website. If I've piqued your interest at all, head over there and get it.
