In the Silence
A Fair Dream Gone Mad

Driven by the desire to try to review any preferably unknown music album on DeBaser's website, I rummage a bit through my collection... During the search, I spot A Fair Dream Gone Mad, the first and only album by the Californian band In The Silence released in 2012, which I consumed some time ago.

On the album in question, the Sacramento quartet plays Alternative Prog. Metal whose gothic nuances and sounds can roughly remind one of Katatonia's style in Viva Emptiness, though in a decently more melancholic key.

As the title suggests, A Fair Dream Gone Mad is overall characterized by dreamlike atmospheres that plow the ground for true walls of sound, as noisy as they are evocative. The lead voice is Josh Burke, whose warm and harmonious timbre reflects comprehensively on the themes addressed within the album: romanticism, darkness, death, search for truth, etc...

The opening track is Ever Closer, a piece with a rather fast and compelling rhythm where one can savor the exquisite technique of drummer Niko Panagopoulos. Following is 17 Shades, a song featuring very deep lyrics from which I would like to extract a particular phrase: "You're still trying to find the truth you buried inside..." - the second track presumably represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of songwriting for this album. Introduced by a fast acoustic guitar, Serenity is next, flavored with pleasant Doom Metal arpeggios and vocal nuances that might bring to mind the dredg of El Cielo. The title of the fourth piece is Beneath These Falling Leaves which, as the title suggests, manages to evoke a real autumn landscape in the mind of the listener. Absolute protagonists of these seven minutes are Burke, who here adopts an almost tearful vocal tone, and guitarist Nate Higgins, who delivers a brilliant solo. Close To Me is a peaceful instrumental track that acts as a bridge between the previous track mentioned earlier and Endless Sea; the latter being, most likely, the weakest part of A Fair Dream Gone Mad, as it is quite repetitive. To fix everything, however, is the amazing All The Pieces, whose highlight is represented by the echoing wall of sound, without taking anything away from Higgins' guitar solo. The album closes with the peculiar Your Reward, which might remind one of a mix between Alice In Chains and Opeth.

Now, during the reading, you will undoubtedly have wondered: "...and the bass?" The answer to this question is simple, as Dennis Davis, the band's bassist, does the essential but nothing excessively commendable.

In conclusion, I must recommend A Fair Dream Gone Mad to fans of music groups such as Katatonia, dredg, Opeth, and Agalloch.