Post-hardcore young guns "Silent Planet" released their sophomore album "Everything Was Sound" on Friday. The album is a landmark work for such a young band. "Silent Planet" made massive waves in the hardcore scene two years ago when their release "(the night god slept)" thrilled us, flooded us with adrenaline and emotion, and challenged many of our musical and cultural notions. All of this continues in marvelous, banging fashion in "Everything Was Sound."
The guys of "Silent Planet" continue to develop and refine their sounds while simultaneously being unafraid to experiment a little. The dark, emotion-filled riffs launch us from zero to mountain heights of energy very quickly, interspersing simple but rich periods of calm ambiance notes in between and in the midst of their songs.
The album is star-studded in every sense: legendary Underoath frontman Spencer Chamberlain lends a combination of his Oath and Sleepwave vocal ranges to "Psychescape," the second song on the record. "Tooth & Nail" founder Brandon Ebel is listed as Executive Producer of the album, which at the very least speaks volumes about his endorsement and faith in this band. I have been an avid fan and follower of both "Tooth & Nail" and SolidState records for over a decade and have rarely seen him take such a pronounced stance for one band.
Musically, the album ranks right up there with some of this year's masterpieces. It is an amazing achievement--a stellar refinement of Silent Planet's spectacular sound from their freshman release. The last minute of "Panic Room" is one of the best finishes of this year's crop of music, and tunes like "Nervosa" and "Orphan" will leave you both pumped and intellectually moved. You'll be jamming to this record for many years to come, something all artists aspire to but few actually achieve. In this sense, I absolutely adore this album.
Thematically, the album is held down considerably from the true greatness it achieves musically. "Silent Planet" continue to be very intentional about their stance on social issues, reflecting a wide range of influences - most consistently from their faith. Where the band mostly hinted at their strong liberal theological worldview in their last record, they plunge us headlong into the full force of it in "Everything Was Sound."
Frontman Garrett Russell's lyrics have always been truly magnanimous. I adore his writing and the implementation of it into the band's unique sound. What holds the record back from greatness are the over-philosophical vocabulary and vindictive moral superiority saturating the lyrics.
As an example of the latter, Russell and the band feel the need to call attention to conservative Christian leaders in the footnotes, specifically Jerry Falwell (who earns the band's ire twice) and Pat Robertson. Besides the fact that the band members are almost certainly not old enough to remember the most significant deeds of Robertson or Falwell, such a pointed, morally self-righteous stance is not a mark of someone sincerely affected by the truth of the Gospel. The mark of such people is humility and grace, especially towards their brothers and sisters in Christ. This divisiveness within the Body of Christ is the precise cause of many of the injustices Russell rails against.
This is not to say the band has to condone Falwell or Robertson's more conservative ideology by any stretch; but calling out even a magnanimous figure like Winston Churchill (flawed, yes, but nevertheless one of the greatest leaders in world history) in a desperate anti-war vent ("Panic Room") screams millennial arrogance and a frightening naïveté of history, reflected in other songs from both records. Such naïveté is frankly quite dangerous in a generation already enslaved to modernity's self-righteous, ignorant narratives of history.
Most of the songs on the record highlight important, overlooked themes in modern society that desperately need immediate attention: anorexia, PTSD and homelessness in the veteran community, and suicide are just a few, and they are treated very reverently and urgently for the most part. But "Silent Planet'"s vindictive tone severely harms their otherwise crucial and needed treatment of these issues.
I love this band--I love what they have done, and what they're doing. This record is a remarkable achievement, and I'll be jamming to it for a long time. But its less-than-gracious lyrical tone holds "Silent Planet" down from the true greatness they are capable of. Regardless, this CD is more than worth your money. "Silent Planet" has a wonderfully bright future; they are currently on Vans Warped Tour all summer, where I am pumped to see them on the Tour's stop in Virginia Beach!
Final rating: 4/5 stars.
