Release Date: 28th
March 2015
Label: Freia
Music
A year later, Sylvium had evolved from a studio based
project, to a live band and also recorded their first full length album
release, The Gift Of Anxiety. The
following year, the band shared the stage with such names as The Aurora
Project, Comedy Of Errors and Haken.
This year has seen the release of album No 2, Waiting For The Noise. The band is a 5
piece comprising Ben van Gastel (guitar), Gijs Koopman (bass, bass pedals),
Fred den Hartog (drums), Richard de Geest (vocals, guitar) and Antal Nusselder
(keyboards). Ben is the original founder of the band, Gijs and Richard were
members of the band on the first album and Antal was a guest musician on one of
the tracks on The Gift of Anxiety.
(Update from social media on 2nd June has just indicated that Gijs
has left the band).
Waiting
For The Noise is a 7 track album with a total running time
of around 44 minutes. The shortest track, is the last track, “Coda (for a
dream)” lasting 4:17 minutes and track 2, “Signal To Noise” is the longest with
a playing time in excess of 9 minutes (9:14). Waiting For The Noise is also a concept album relating to a dying
man and his judgement afterwards.
The opening track, “Quietus” (5:38) is a rather dark
instrumental with spoken voices entering the scene in the background from time
to time. There are a lot of keyboards and melodic guitar phrases weaving in and
out as the track builds in intensity, but it is always underpinned with
repetitive little themes. This is a good solid track to start the album.
Track 2, “Signal To Noise” (9:14) has some very emotive
vocals and a stunning piano passage leading the music. The track moves up a
gear around the 2 minute mark with the voice becoming more powerful and the
guitars building up to a stunning guitar solo around the 3 minute point. The
piano reappears behind the guitar and ultimately takes over the lead with the
returning emotive voice. At around 5:30 minutes, there is a change in direction
with the track assuming a “heavier” feel. The powerful voice has returned and a
throbbing bass powers the track along. A more intense band workout is in full
force just prior to 7 minutes. The piano soars above the rest of the band
before the voice returns and takes the track towards the end. Spoken vocals and
a pulsing synth finally end the track.
“Fade In/Out” (8:24) is a complex 3 part suite comprising
Part 1 Revelation, Part 2 Confrontation and Part 3 Reconciliation. This is a
very melodic song which weaves in different directions during its 3 parts. Some
terrific organ work around the 5 minute mark, backed by a synth moves the track
into its last part which features guitar and synth to the fore. I had a little
memory starting to grow all the way through listening to this track, but
couldn’t quite put my finger on what the style reminded me of. I thought
initially Pink Floyd, but decided that it wasn’t quite right, but then perhaps
more of a Pink Floyd tribute band who are now producing their own music, and
that was when the lightbulb lit up. The band that I was thinking of was indeed,
the German progressive band, RPWL.
“Altered State” (5:46) has an almost laidback band intro
and then settles into some great guitar and synth with crystal clear vocals.
The track continues with that superb synth weaving themes in and out. A more
spoken style vocal above a thumping drum and throbbing bass is replaced by an
excellent guitar passage with a piano in the background. This is a stunningly
beautiful piece of music which also incorporates a “violin” around the 4 minute
point. The band are then back in full flow to take the track out.
“Headlong” (4:59) is another brooding dark instrumental,
albeit containing a spoken section, and is similar in some ways to the opening
track. “Fragile” (6:16) is a very different track, almost ballad like, and
initially seems out of place, but repeated plays results in passages getting
into your mind, and the realization that this is a very clever track, slowly
comes to fruition. The final track, “Coda (for a dream)” (4:17) starts in an
electronic manner and is very atmospheric with the vocals having a touch of the
Rhys Marsh about them. A great percussion passage behind the voice arrives
about 2:15 minutes and at 3 minutes the band let rip. Suddenly, the sound drops
to an electronic pulse which sees the track out.
Waiting
For The Noise is a superb album by Sylvium and takes the
band a few more rungs up the ladder towards becoming a more household name in
the way bands like Marillion, and IQ are. The band have built on the
foundations of album No. 1 and soared. Certainly an album that deserves to
shift many, many copies and hopefully once you have had a listen, you will be
one of the many creating a small space on their CD shelves.
4.5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: Quietus, Signal To Noise, Altered State
Tracks:
Quietus
Signal To Noise
Fade In/Out
Altered State
Headlong
Fragile
Coda (for a dream)
Tracks:
Quietus
Signal To Noise
Fade In/Out
Altered State
Headlong
Fragile
Coda (for a dream)
Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-Sr. Reviewer Prog
Rock Music Talk
June 7, 2015
Review
Provided By Prog Rock Music Talk
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