Published on Jun 6, 2003
I’d really like to give this CD a glowing review, but I can’t.
I’d like to say I have the answer, the key, to what makes this band
ugly to my ears. I have been listening to hardcore for many years.
The fusion of metal and punk into the genre I call hardcore has
often yielded great results. Bands like Pink Daffodils and Knives
Out are excellent aggressive. The hardcore vocals are tolerable to
the degree that they are contributing to the song and enhancing the
song by contributing to the song. If they are the only vocal color
in the song, then the music is typically aggressive the entire
song.
What Silverstein is doing on their latest release is walking the
line between hardcore and pop rock. Vocalist Shane Told is a
talented vocalist, parts of opening track “Smashed Into Pieces”
prove that. He has a decent range and doesn’t try to oversing. The
problem, though, is that the band slips into this ‘call and answer’
section on the first track where he alternates between screaming
and singing, “You made me swear.” It’s a weak hook to build a song
upon.
But even when the hook is strong, there’s something that just
doesn’t click. “Giving Up” has a catchy introductory drumbeat and
an interesting melody. Told starts the song, singing and everything
is sounding good. Then they couldn’t decide how to continue the
good vibe of the song so they turned to Told and said, “Hey, that
screaming thing, try that.” So he does and the song goes down the
tubes. It just doesn’t work for this material. So, when Told
screams his guttural scream at the 1:52 mark, telling the listener
“I’ve laid myself to sleep tonight./ I know you’ve played out
everything in your mind,” I’m just not satisfied that he had to
scream those lyrics. The rest of his vocals are understandable and
clear.
Now, I understand the lyrics of this release are meant to be
depressing and written from the mind of a broken heart. Told is
given at least partial credit, if not full credit, for writing the
lyrics on this release. He has obviously been through some tough
times and Silverstein is, obviously, his outlet for dealing with
the injustices with his life. And I understand that the band
thought that with Told screaming, his anquish would come across
better.
But what Silverstein doesn’t seem to understand is that they are
a talented band. They have written above average hooks, in spots
peaking over the edge to brilliant material. In the big picture,
though Silverstein just can’t get a good foothold. The violin in
“Wish I Could Forget You” is airy and serves its purpose, but it
can’t detract from the focus on the boring, repetitive guitar riff.
Drummer Paul Koehler pounds out a great backbeat on “Bleeds No
More” but he can’t save the song from being a waste of time when
Told starts screaming.
I want to be clear: Silverstein could have been my favorite band
on Victory Records. There are times on this CD when I have my foot
tapping, my air drums going and my air guitar tuned up. In the big
picture, though, I know Silverstein will get filed away into my CD
collection of 4000. Maybe in a year, I’ll pull it out to see if
Told’s vocals sound any better to me. I’m not optimistic.