So how often do you hear of metal from Azerbaijan? If you are like many that will read this, there aren’t really any bands that come to mind. For this reason alone, this is what makes Bandcamp such a great model. Literally anyone can put their music out there for the public at large to consume (and support the artist). And if you are a melodic death metal fan, Silence Lies Fear is going to be something you need to hear.
We’ll get the ‘obligatory’ part out of the way: this is well-tread territory, with initial sound references going out towards Dark Tranquillity, Detonation, and Callenish Circle. You know, the bands that never delved too deep into altering the melodic death format into poppy choruses and focused on providing intense, melodic riffs with sweeping harmonies. Silence Lies Fear nestles in nicely with this mindset, and has to be one of the strongest in recent memory. There’s that melancholic grandeur that The Gallery and The Mind’s I-era Dark Tranquillity was so exceptional at, with convicted screams that can be more emotive than one might expect. Given the guitar riffing, the vocals can really push the aggression, yet when things move into the more melodic sector (see parts of “Prophet” and “The Divide”) you can hear an added emotional heft to them. Again to pull the Dark Tranquillity card (this is meant to be a positive connection, not a negative one), there are some sparse female clean vocals that spice things up, notably on “Andromeda – Seed of Thoughts.” In regards to the riffing directly, it’s often both visceral and gorgeous. Some highlights include the driving “Abiogenesis” and ethereal melodies of “Perfect Substance.”
If you enjoy the heavier end of the melodic death metal spectrum, Silence Lies Fear is bound to be your new favorite band. It’s been a while since a band has so perfectly nailed the format down to a tee. Plus, bonus points for the killer, otherworldly artwork. This is the whole package.