Silent lapse appear to be doing quite well for themselves, judging by the number of results I found on google. Listening to their music, I can understand why. The band have sophisticated style, only natural for progressive metal, however, they achieve a high level of musicianship and depth without sacrificing the soul of their sound; The music is still evocative, and thoroughly organic. Songs like "Reach" jump out at you with a sort-of soaring majesty, and the feeling it evokes matches it's title very nicely. The musical parts match up well, and the band sounds very cohesive, which the production also compliments excellently. It's a versatile album too, with a bit of everything. Plenty of softer parts, such as the beginning of "Solitude" in contrast with other, heavier parts. Overall, however, the album has quite a mellow, floaty feeling in it's wake,with nothing which truly roars at the listener, although there is a lot in the mid-range in terms of heaviness.
The songs on the album are immensely varied, with everything from hugely progressive, floaty keyboard pieces, and some more traditional sounding, hard-rock like pieces. This variety, however, all seems to "fit" into the bands sound, with everything seeming quite in-place, nothing coming as a sonic surprise. As such, this debut is a very solid one, and would suggest that the band are well aware of their direction, a direction is a bouquet full of styles. The album has everything from small instrumentals, to an soulful 10-minuet epic, something which, frankly, no band should be without. This album is certainly very well-rounded and pleasing on the ears.
The vocals are immensely accomplished, but, nonetheless, sound a little bit like a large percentage of all of the mainstream bands out there at the moment. Silent Lapse, however, manage them with a lot more style, and puts the vocal style in a musical vehicle where it can be truly enjoyed.
I give the album a solid 8/10.
Links:
Silent Lapse Official Site (They offer up the album for download here)
