Suicide Silence
Suicide Silence

The silence of a suicide: the icy despair of the author of this act but also the all-encompassing desolation of those left behind. In each case, one of the most horrendously black and distressing feelings a human being can experience.

Not sadness, not decay, just the void, the silence, indeed, left by someone who is no longer here by their own hand. And simultaneously the confusion, the pure atemporality, the space that dilates and contracts, the suspended passage of hours that then violently dissolve into a distorted situation. This is the moniker of the group, this is what it means: one of the moments when death seems closest to absolute. And this is also what the Suicide Silence want to convey with their music, one of the most emotionally devastating and challenging offerings available.

Here we are light-years away from the sweet sufferings of Gothic Black groups but also from the languid depressions of groups like Leviathan, Nargaroth, and Abyssic Hate. In this Ep there is little human, it's all so far from the common feeling but at the same time so close to the reality and the harshness of the events that occurred; here there is something not very reassuring. Introductory note aside, “Suicide Silence” is the self-titled debut of a U.S. band that, like almost all, decides to release an EP before the big step of a Full Length. Despite this, the album received excellent distribution largely due to the advertising done on their official website (where it is also possible to listen to samples and watch the Live video offered as a bonus) which led it to land directly in my stereo. Well, I think my stereo won't be spitting it out anytime soon because I was literally petrified by what is recorded on that damned CD.

Released just a year ago, the EP is influenced by the main Brutal Death groups in circulation today, particularly those dedicated to the most extreme and integralist offerings. Especially noticeable are the references to the New York school of bands such as Skinless, Immolation, and Suffocation (the former in particular), but there are also references to the Californian Death metal of Disgorge, Decrepit Birth, and Deeds Of Flesh. What is certain, however, is that Suicide Silence is more closely related to the new generation than to old-school metal, and this is well highlighted by the production, which is decidedly clean even if not cold. They also draw on the instrumental technique of young Californian bands, even if in some points still perfectible: certainly, however, their skill is decidedly above average, especially considering that they are newcomers.

Many great bands (Cryptopsy and Suffocation themselves) demonstrated only moderate technique in their early Demos and Mini-CDs, but Suicide Silence behaves like true professionals and shows uncommon talent together, as is obvious, with a diligent study of their instruments. Behind the drums, a truly capable guy who repeatedly reminded me of the young Bob Beaulac (Skinless); as I said, his skill can still be improved, but what sets him apart is a very different use of the drums from the traditional one. Blast beats or classic accelerations are used only marginally and mostly to serve as bridges to his various inventions, which mostly concern the frequent slowdowns (all, however, too unpredictable to earn the band the reputation of a Doom Death band). Effects-filled passages are not lacking and usually resolve in abrupt interruptions, bizarre pauses and rolls, assorted stumbles, and other pleasantness that could only come from the mind of a musician of great talent. Slightly less singular is the work of the two guitarists, although it represents the necessary complement to their drummer's performance; their way of playing took me back five years, to that "Foreshadowing Our Demise" by Skinless that had fascinated me so much.

However, our guys do not do a highly criticized "copy-paste" work; rather, they strive to continue that path without reproducing it exactly and, rightly, by extremizing it so as not to lose the primacy of heaviness. And they succeed, my God if they succeed; the riffs are complicated but manage not to slip into virtuosity for its own sake by alternating the faster and more technical pieces with slowdowns that focus everything on the sonic and, more than anything else, emotional impact. However, they evidently do not disdain Post Hardcore, a genre from which they draw pseudo-melodic ideas unexpectedly inserted into the songs; do not be surprised, therefore, to hear Converge-like chords appearing amid the Armageddon of these songs. Incredible and valid is the voice; the vibrations of the singer's vocal cords bring us closer to death, making us brush it with the deepest growling and bringing us to our knees with one of the most lacerating, suffering, and lethal screams I have ever heard, expertly highlighted by the production. I know that seeing that I gave the highest rating to an EP will make you skeptical, but as I said regarding Deeds Of Flesh, a record sold at such a ridiculous price and containing such beautiful tracks cannot but deserve excellence.

The five songs (with “Destruction of A Statue” played Live perfectly) are composed marvelously, and I will say more; many bands with a decades-long career and a much more substantial bank account cannot do better. The pieces are structured, thoughtful, and above all felt, the most important thing if you play extreme music not just for the sake of doing it; every note is an ideogram, a key to accessing a horrible emotion of anguish and grief. I know many of you will not feel these things (not to mention that none of you will hear this album) and will consider it an undeserved praise of a very normal Brutal Death metal record; but if you try to immerse yourself in the world of “the silence of suicide,” if you try to read the title of “Distorted Thought Of Addiction” while listening to it, then maybe you will understand that all this, even if it is not human, can happen to a person. You might get a chill, you might be morbidly attracted, or more likely you'll think, “did this guy's fridge break that he's screaming like that?”; but what I feel while “Suicide Silence” spins in my player is a feeling of infinite darkness, the pessimism that becomes useless in the face of tragedy and leaves only the desire to escape from horror (“About A Plane Crash”).

Welcome where the sun does not reach.