A Garland of Tears
Artist: My Silent Wake
©2008 Bombworks Records
http://www.mysilentwake.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/mysilentwake
 
Melodic death metal with a light doom element mixed in makes My Silent Wake a surprisingly entertaining ride. Never much for the genre for the solitary reason that many of the growling vocalists are usually indecipherable in the mix, this is not the case here. The musical bed is somewhat unpredictable, not ultra-technical or structurally wound super tight. Getting older should mean heading towards mellower pastures for me. This again is not the case. 
 
Ian Arkley’s vocals naturally go back and forth between the melodic and the growl. The growl is good. His guitar work over the rhythm section is also stunning at points.
The opening track, “Tunnels” is a killer opus at 11-plus minutes. “Cruel Dark Skies” is a beautifully driven piece with powerful guitar licks. Actually, the whole enchilada is worth some extra hot sauce. This is really good stuff!
 
thecannyshark
January 2009