Description
Country of origin: Finland
Location: Jämsänkoski
Status: Active
Formed in: 1995
Silentium was the revelation of 2003. Not often does one encounter phenomenal Gothic metal that reinvents the wheel and presents something as unique as these six Finns unleashed with Hamartia of Prudence. This isn’t your average Gothic metal. This is a superbly played and acted metal play.
The album is split into two halves. Half of these sixteen tracks is told in a play format while the other half complements it musically. The story told is very well-acted and makes for an interesting albeit a confusing read. A villain named Scoria personifies the character of Devil meets Jack the Ripper, as he infiltrates the mind of a sailor named Antracon who throughout the haunted by the phrase “”Every whore shall burn”” that pertains to his beloved woman named Prudence who is of noble descent. Musically, Silentium is a captivating mix of Gothic metal in vein of Tristania and The Sins of Thy Beloved, yet only better. The songs are extremely catchy, well-orchestrated, skilfully sung by potent male and female singers, and groovy due to the abundance of double-bass drumming. Compared to plenty of modern Gothic metal rubbish, this is one band that has all the requisites to become a standout in the scene. An absolute must for fans of Gothic metal.
https://music.apple.com/nz/album/sufferion-hamartia-of-prudence/1442413734
Tracklist
1 The Letter 1:59
2 Flame Still Burns 5:08 Voice [Speech] – Tapio Wilska
3 Antraconé’s Dream 2:06
4 Lost Is My Name 4:17
5 The Wraith At The Shore 1:31
6 Heart Unyielding 3:48
7 The Conspiracy 3:51
8 Shame Forever Mine 7:02
9 Scoria Arrives 2:38
10 Dark Whispers 8:52
11 The Murderer 0:54
12 Wither In Silence 4:27
13 The Hideaway 1:00
14 The Fall 6:23
15 At The Cabin 2:59
16 Beyond 11:04
Bass, Vocals, Lyrics By, Script By – Matti Aikio
Choir – Anna Ilveskoski, Elli Kotakorpi, Linda Laaksonen, Martti Hänninen, Nadja Räikkä, Tiina Lehvonen
Choir, Voice Actor – Noora Piili, Sinikka Salminen
Co-producer – Silentium
Co-producer, Engineer – Tuomo Valtonen
Composed By – Laaksonen* (tracks: 4, 6), Ojala* (tracks: 12), Boman* (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 7 to 16)
Drums – Janne Ojala
Guitar – Juha Lehtioksa, Toni Lahtinen
Keyboards – Sami Boman
Keyboards [Additional], Producer – Tuomas Holopainen
Violin, Other [Sound Design], Programmed By, Directed By, Recorded By, Edited By – Jani Laaksonen
Vocals [Additional Female] – Maija Turunen
Vocals [Additional] – Sami*, Toni*, Tuomas*
Vocals [Female] – W. Lilith
Voice Actor – Outi Condit, Tero Koponen, Tommi Kainulainen, Ville Majamaa
This is an experimental concept album, that consists of a radio play edited into segments and doom metal songs placed between them.
This is a concept album, of two people in love, Antracone and Prudence, whose love is forbidden because of different social status. It is a tragic love and death story resulting in Prudence dying in the end. Somewhat cliché but I don’t care. The story is told through 16 songs, 8 of them being spoken interludes explaining the story. And they are very well done, helping the story flow wonderfully. Now, to the songs. There are 8 of them. Basically they all provide fantastic melodies, a mixture of male and female singing and excellent choruses, which you won’t be able to put out of your head. There are even some scream vocals to be heard in the verses of Dark Whispers and a bit in Whiter In Silence. At first listen all the songs sound somewhat similar but when you listen to it a couple of times it strikes you that every song is special in it’s own way. No fillers, but no immediate hits. All of the songs are in the same quality level. The best thing is probably that the whole album just flows so well together. Still, if I had to choose a couple of best songs it would be : Flame still burns (fantastic chorus and a great female-sung verse that stuns me every time I hear it), Shame Forever Mine (just the whole song sounds great, a part sung in Latin also), Dark Whispers (excellent vocals – screams, male & female cleans, it all fits in perfectly, second longest song on the album, but in absolutely flies by, as there is not a single dull or bad moment in it, a personal favourite), Whiter In Silence (fast paced song, excellent chorus)
All in all, if you like Gothic or if you like a nice concept album you will love this. Highly recommended.
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