Amortean is the sixth full CD released by the band, in addition to four EPs. The sound is a doom / gothic mix with solid guitar riffs, a strong drum line, beautiful orchestration and a strong female lead. That lead is not operatic but is perfect for the style being presented here, full of emotion, hard when the occasion calls for it, and generally perfect, in the tradition of Finnish singers that we have come to love. Her name is Riina Rinkinen and I really can’t think of a voice to compare hers to, maybe a Floor Jensen when she’s not doing an opera style. Additional vocals are provided by Matti Aikio, both clean and some limited death vocals. However, these are sporadic and only appear on a couple numbers. Other members of the band include Jari Ojala on drums, Toni Lahtinen on guitars, Sami Boman on keyboards and instrumentals, Juha Lehtioska on guitars and Matti Aikio who handles bass as well as the limited male vocals.

For the most part, Silentium is a symphonic metal sound, an atmospheric gothic presentation accompanied by strong guitars and the full range of orchestration, from individual sounds to the full Monte at times. There are also numerous occasions when the musical component is a piano, serving as the only background to the vocals, which are often overlaid to provide the atmospheric tone that so often defines this type of music. The difference, in this instance, may be the mixing of the presentation. It is outstanding; all individual sounds stand alone and can be clearly heard from one song to another, from one section to the next. Additionally, the individual songs can be extremely long, up to nearly 9 minutes in once instance. And, within these songs, there are individual components, almost like an opera, with different story lines being presented and contrasted against one another. There are also choral components that serve to provide a fantasy element to some songs, especially over the symphonic background. All in all, beautiful music that can appeal to a wide range of interests.

The individual songs take a number of directions within the symphonic gothic realm. The CD opens with Leave the Fallen Behind. The song is introduced with a violin line that expands to a more fully orchestrated component, which then evolves into the metal. Metal, for Silentium, tends to be crunching guitars over a hard drum line. The bass tends to be a lighter function and there are multiple lead and rhythm guitar sounds that appear at different times on this and other songs. However, the symphonic is a constant. Riina’s vocals here are metal in flavor; she has a strong metal voice and uses it on several songs, this being one of them.

The Messenger follows this metal track and tones it down a notch. This is the gloom part of the Silentium repertoire. Soft acoustical guitars take us to the symphonic and continue as the epical framework evolves. Riina goes emotive here and this is her stronger presentation style. Again, there are the overlaid vocals driving over the keyboards with the guitars providing both fill and highlights. Lyrics speak to loss, to the eventual destruction of life and the longing left behind. And Riina can sing this message as well as anyone; her voice is one of tearful regret, of the permanence of that final moment and the devastation of being left to mourn.

A knife in the Back continues this doom theme. The music is dirge like with some interesting interplay of instruments that serve as a backdrop to the woeful vocals that relay the story. Riina takes this song in a more personal direction, the loss is more deeply felt, as if the pain is more recent and more intense. There are some interesting guitar sounds in this song; we get a glimpse of the range of technique available from the Silentium guitar players.

The following title, The Fallen Ones with You Tonight is the near 9 minute epic and clearly a highlight of the CD. Riina is joined in the vocals by Matti, who contributes the death vocals on this extensive exploration of the ethereal. The band cuts loose on this one, guitars scream, the drums pound, the orchestra soars and we are taken on a mystical voyage through dark and haunting places. Then, midway through the song, the tone and tempo drop, the musicians begin a more mournful journey and Riina drops to a soulfull sound. There’s a part in this song that is hard to ignore, a guitar begins a near mystical sound, soaring up and down as Riina screams over it. You’ll listen to this song more than a few times, for that part if for nothing else. Again, the lyrics move in a dark and ominous direction:

The fallen ones with you tonight

They fill your dreams with butterflies

Smiling as they watch you sleep

Flames devour their tiny feet

They're winged and horned, their haloes burn

The floor is crawling, the moon has turned

They laugh with you upon night sky

You don't feel shame or need to hide

My Broken Angel provides another direction. Matti sings with a clean vocal here, almost similar to Marco from Nightwish. And the interplay of this fine vocal with Riina provides one of the vocal highlights of the CD. I wish there were more of this interplay; his clean vocals are superior to his growls. And his emotive approach to the lyrics mirror those of Riina, the two seem to be sharing a sorrowful moment, one that only they can comprehend and bring voice to.

La Fin Du Monde has to be considered the highlight of a very strong musical production. Riina’s vocals are superb, the song itself is one of infinite beauty, nearly 8 minutes of it. This is clearly the most atmospheric song and one where the musicians, and the production people, really shine. Again, there are shifts in the musical direction, different instruments take over at separate times but the vocals remain strong and clearly presented. Riina sings:

There are words best used unwritten

And these hollow days

Have turned them real, wolves

They eat your love away

They told me lies of sunshine

When I felt the night

Oblivion resembles bliss

Enough to sing to the abyss

There’s a section at the end of this song that catches you, no matter what you’re doing. One of the most beautiful and intriguing musical sections I have ever heard. It starts with a symphonic component, but then moves to a throbbing guitar. Riina then begins to whisper, a soft seductive line that evolves into a vocal line by the songstress, all over the hard guitar and the symphonics, which begin to build to a crescendo. Riina sings:

Comfortly drowning

(Sleep is denied for those who understand)

Vast nothingness growing

(Dreams lucid as sky I'm forced to comprehend)

Vague heartbeat is slowing

And, as the music reaches its climax, she screams:

Is the end complete?

Perfect!!

Give this one a listen, it’s hard to get much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bin5MeCf7jM

9.5 / 10