Afterlife – CD Review
Symphony of Silence

CD Info
2013
Revalve Records
12 Tracks
English Lyrics

With the release of Symphony of Silence, Afterlife, a female-fronted Symphonic Metal band is ready to join the Symphonic Metal World. Afterlife, from Padua, Italy, was formed in 2009 as a cover band. After that, in 2011, Afterlife became a reality with the releasing of a promo. Now, in 2013, the band has released its first CD.

This five piece band has all the components necessary to be successful. It is shown throughout the album with a synergy on par at times with Nightwish and Within Temptation to name a few. There is an abundance of energy present from all the members including powerful instrumental and vocal performances. Serious nods are given to each of the performer’s specialty in different songs throughout the album. This is a definite album for those that like and follow Symphonic Metal.

Another unique feature of Symphony of Silence is that the band didn’t fall into the common trap of the songs all sounding the same. There is wide diversity of melodies within the album, a testament to the writing skills of the guitarist Eddy Talpo and keyboardist Stefano Tiso, who also doubles with vocals on the title track “Symphony of Silence.” When listening to music I tend to focus primarily of the music (instrumental and vocal), but I found the lyrics to some of the songs intriguing as well. This included the title track and “Hymn to Love.” I will explain more about this later in the review.

The opening track, which is purely instrumental, will be a surprise to metal fans because it seems out of place. There are multiple tracks of synthesized keyboards including bells, strings, and an offbeat drum pattern that enhances the keyboards. This track seems to prepare and serves as a contrast for what is to come in the rest of the album.

The song “We Are Our Own Evil” reminds us that this is a Symphonic Metal band with the heavy guitar sound including riffs, diverse drumming by Antonio Gobbato, and lyrical vocals by Anna Giusto. This is also the longest song on the album. After opening with a driving, staccato bass line by Nicolas Menarbin, we are treated to the heavy guitar and drums. Anna holds her own vocally against the driving instrumental parts.

Another song “Starry Eyes” opens with an arpeggiated chord progression followed with the driving bass and drums. Then Eddy switches to the heavy guitar sound to enhance the drums and bass. What made the song unique to me were the vocals. Throughout the song, there are spots where Anna’s voice is haunting, almost out of this world. Also, this is a song on the album where she explores the upper range of her voice.

“Hymn to Love” showcases the keyboard skills of Stefano in the opening as he explores the range of the keyboard with intertwining arpeggios and melody. Anna shows the strength of her voice a la Amy Lee with a beautiful ballad sound over the instruments. Also prominent in this song are the lyrics especially the chorus which is:

I will love you and I will want you forever
Because without you
This travel is only the hopeless search for love
and I’ve got you.

My favorite song in the album would have to be the title track “Symphony of Silence.” Not only does this song feature the vocals of Anna and Stefano, but the lyrics have an almost wistful sound to them. Some of the female lyrics:

Run and don’t look back
You’re not a child
The mysteries of the world aren’t still in you
Look out for them

Some Male lyrics:

I put you at the intersection of many roads
Make your choice
Wrong so I can forgive you
Die so I can meet you
Die so I can remember you

The chorus:

This is the symphony of silence
Deadly for the listener
Everything you believe in is falling away before your eyes
Filled with sharp sand

In addition, the song opens with guitar (acoustic) and strings providing this unique background sound to the vocals.

Overall I found Symphony of Silence to be a pleasant album especially since this is Afterlife’s first one. There are a wide range melodies and moods expressed through the songs. Furthermore, the instrumental and vocal parts are very complimentary and show that serious thought and preparation went into this album. Those that love Symphonic Metal should seriously consider adding this to their library and I am looking forward to hearing more from this band in the future.

8.5 / 10

• Prev
• Next