Silverstein
Rescue

Silverstein has been a very important band for the emo/screamo musical movement, finally bringing, in a truly repetitive scene to the point of exasperation, some fresh novelties with their debut album, dated 2003: "When Broken Is Easily Fixed." For an emerging band, they proved to be up to the task and immediately stood out, almost always maintaining above-average quality compared to the emo/screamo music releases of the 2000s, which count few truly original bands.

In 2005, the successor to "WBIEF", "Discovering The Waterfront", arrived, considered by many (but not by me) to be the high point of their discography. I consider it an excellent album for the genre, but in my opinion, their masterpiece comes four years later, and it's "A Shipwreck In The Sand," a sad concept album that tells the story of a man betrayed by his partner... but that's another story.

Personally, I believe the only misstep in this band's career was the 2007 album, "Arrivals & Departures," the most commercial of all, full of emo clichés chart emo, very poor in screamo parts, a keystone in the works of the Canadian band. I like almost all of the songs on this album, but it's really hard to digest because it's very repetitive.

But let's forget the past and look to the present. The album we're talking about is "Rescue," the fifth honorable work for the band, which is not yet out in stores (the official date is April 26), but you can listen to it streaming. Unfortunately, I found myself forced to download it, because in Italy it would have been practically impossible to find; it would certainly have cost more than it's worth.

Silverstein had said that the album would contain tons of screaming and breakdowns; and they weren't lying. Indeed, this is their album with the most breakdowns.

Musically, "Rescue" is very varied: on one hand, it marks the band's heaviest chapter; in fact, we find the most aggressive songs Silverstein has ever written (The Artist and Intervention). On the other hand, it also opens the doors to softer chapters, like Darling Harbour, Burning Hearts or Replace You. An average album, made by a band that still has much to offer to a scene poor in ideas like emocore.

Among the noteworthy tracks, I must point out the shifting opener Medication, the brutal The Artist, which shakes the atmosphere with its pumped-up breakdowns (I can't imagine what devastating impact it will have live), the roars of Sacrifice, Live To Kill, and Intervention, which in the finale recalls the riff of I Am The Arsonist. Almost all the slow songs are also charming: note the final breakdowns of Forget Your Heart and Good Luck With Your Lives; also enjoyable are Burning Hearts and Replace You. The only song out of place, really bad, is Darling Harbour, with a banality that gives you goosebumps.

Also very good is the concluding In Memory Of..., which fuses all the styles of the album, from the slow melodies to the screams of a truly splendidly fit Shane Told. As usual, the work of the guitarists and bassist is not excessively brilliant; the drummer is skilled, although he repeats the same patterns a little too often (the drum parts of Medication, Burning Hearts, and The Artist are horribly similar in the verses). Perhaps if the guitarists allowed themselves some solos, the quality level would rise greatly.

In conclusion, a good Silverstein album; needless to say, if you don't like the band, you won't like the album; but if you listen to them, "Rescue" is a must-have.