CD Info
2011
Ravenheart Music / UK
11 Tracks
Mostly English Lyrics

The first thing you need to understand regarding this band is that there are currently at least two major groups using the same name in Europe, one from France, seen here, a relatively heavier female fronted metal band and a pretty damn good one, and the Italian version under review here. This Italian version of Silent Opera is a Symphonic Gothic oriented sound fronted by an operatic female lead doing a more melodic form of metal. She’s backed up by what a lady friend of mine called three "really cute young dudes". Ahh, yea, I guess so. But they do put out an interesting sound assuming you’re into the Symphonic Operatic Gothic genre, which I am. So, now that we’ve addressed that bit of ambiguity we can move on to what’s important here. And oh, I didn’t figure this out by myself, we have Dave of Ravenheart Music to thank for straightening out my time and alcohol ravaged mind on this conflicted bit of reality in the music cosmos, thanks Dave.

The Silent Opera we’re dealing with can be viewed here. Clearly a somewhat different direction, and with those afore mentioned very "cute" dudes. Assuming that floats yer boat. And the costumes do recall the days of "Big Hair" bands from the substance abused past. . . but without the hair thank god. But, this is Italian music and, in this case, the band is based on a theme, fantasy based of course. The Italians seem to like that approach and it does give you something to keep in mind while you’re listening to the music. And I’m guessing, that’s the reason for the costumes.

Now, being the good researcher that I am, I went to all the usual sources to get information regarding the band. And, of course, the first thing you have to do is get the correct band. The second thing you have to do is get past the site with the virus, and finally, you get to read a little about the band, the music and the story, although Dave provided the short version in an earlier communication. But, it’s a good one, takes me back to those fun filled fantasy days in the Haight in San Francisco where every pill took you to a different part of the galaxy and reality was just one more segment of one’s tortured interpretation of some god’s creation. Not to say it wasn’t fun, of course. But anyway, the entire story, in all its Tolkien like glory can be read here, hopefully without the virus that seems to appear with Gollum like regularity.

And now, on to the music. We begin with that classical intro that Gothic is famous for, although calling this traditional Gothic may be a little bit of a stretch. But there is certainly a classical dimension to most of the tracks. The first cut is Mask Manor, and we get to the metal after that relatively limited classical intro, and flow to the vocal which is even more classical. Our Lady Victoria does indeed have a voice, reminds me of someone but I can’t quite recall who. Doesn’t matter, a great voice is a great voice and you have to appreciate this one. And the rest of the sound, well, it’s those guys, and I’m assuming Rain is the one doing the keyboard symphonics. . . along with the Stratocaster and the Ibanez. Nice material and the quality shows through with some strong background material . Well mixed as well and well developed, someone did some nice work in the hardware room. That metal is followed up on the second selection with a novel keyboard intro that flows into the vocal over a relatively subdued guitar line. . . but with the ever present symphonic over which nearly every song rides. Lyrically we stay with the fantasy line that was introduced above, we’re not really going into the darkness that defines the Gothic direction, unless you see something more ethereal to this lyric than I do:

She's the queen of all my dreams, the White Minx
She'd wrote a chapter of my destiny
She's the clever Sphinx, the White Minx
She'd wrote the seventh chapter of my life
I hear the call of
A silky mellific voice

Actually, I’m not entirely sure what a mellific voice is, but, hell, it doesn’t matter, we’re here to listen to music, not to psychoanalyze the lyrics.

The music pretty much follows this pattern for much of the CD. If you’re comfortable with the vocal it’s certainly hard to find fault in the background instrumental. And, the vocal is a style I’m comfortable with although there are clearly those who complain when someone comes too close to the classical opera delivery. Of course, living in the good ol’ Southern US as I do, I’m bombarded with a daily dose of overripe rap intertwined with boy band babbling with only a modicum of Country / Western and Jazz to save my soul. . . so this musical direction is hardly on my complaint list. And there is the relatively strong production which adds to the enjoyment factor, some nice changes in octave within individual songs and the occasional novel instrumental nuggets to keep things from getting too stagnant.

Now there is another factor that I do actually like a lot. You know these Italians can speak in several languages, and we get some of that here. Don’t know exactly how profound it is, my language skills being limited to English, Spanish, SAS, COBOL C and some C++, and a few off the wall languages only known to those of us with high DOD security clearances. If you ask about them, I’d have to kill you and we wouldn’t want that. But anyway, Selene provides what can only be described as a Gothically oriented sound made even more interesting with lyrics like these:

Deus Nox Nova Benedicis
Deus Nox Nova Benedicis
Deus Nox Nova Benedicis

Selene Surgis Camino Meus Illuminas
Selene Surgis Omnes Deorum Hac Nocte Appellas

Selene Surgis Camino Meus Illuminas
Selene Surgis Omnes Deorum Hac Nocte Appellas

Damn, I love it when they talk dirty in Latin. I mean, if this was Sirenia we’d know we were on our way to the darkest recesses of the human psyche with a message of ethereal hopelessness and despair, but here, well, maybe not. But it sure sounds good, and sung with an urgency that lets us imagine all manner of Gothic despondency.

Always with You provides a different direction from the standard sound on the CD. Here we get multiple vocals, one of them male and really good. It’s a nice addition to the material, a vocal strong enough to work with the strong female vocal that drives most of the CD. Here’s a suggestion folks, make this a more regular part of the music, this is one of the best songs on the CD.

The band saves their best for last; a nearly 10 minute opus entitled, interestingly enough, Silent Opera. And they do a nice job with it, taking us for an extended ride through the wilds of Symphonic Operatic Gothic. I don’t have the lyrics but, again, we probably wouldn’t expect profound enlightenment from them. But, the music is damn good so don’t let the lyrical disengagement bother you. Just listen for the enjoyment factor, maybe put Lord of the Rings on without audio and let the music move you. You pretty much get it all here, the guitars do some of their best work, the drums pound out a rhythm to keep you moving, the symphonics are approaching the spectacular and the vocals take hold of you and move you forward as intended. Lady Victoria sounds like she’s doing a Wagnerian opera selection with Therion in the background, it’s all OK with me.

And this final selection probably best defines the work overall. It’s probably not lyrically on a par with the best that strong Gothic has to offer, no Thomas Holopainen here but that’s not what was intended with this work. What we do get is some nice music, a strong vocal backed up with some strong instrumental work. . . and a little dirty Latin thrown in for religious purposes. A good listen and sometimes that’s all we need.

9 / 10

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