Deathcore quartet Silence The Messenger was established in 2007, hailing from San Antonio, Texas. They started off with their debut EP "Buried" in 2010, with their first full-length album, "Achilles," being aired in 2013. Their second full-length, named "The Proclamation," would be released in early 2016.
I reviewed Silence The Messenger's previous full-length "Achilles" a few years ago (Complete with the start of drawing crummy cartoons like this one), and my opinion on it has pretty much remained unchanged since then. Even though it doesn't add much to the deathcore realm or have that much depth to it, it still does a pretty remarkable of getting the blood boiling; it has its share of dynamic and memorable moments for it to stay afloat amidst the rest of the crowd. So when I found out a month back that they would be releasing their sophomore full-length, I was curious as to what direction the band would set their course on. After listening through it a couple times, I've come to the following conclusion: Though not quite as interesting or engaging as their previous effort, "The Proclamation" is still a solid album with enough for it to be entertaining.
The musicianship is not much to write home about, but for what it is, it carries through well. The aggressive vocals are the definite highlight, though. Steve Tinnon's range continues to impress, stretching comfortably from high-pitch snarls to some mid-to-low-pitch roars while having a ton of energy and rage behind it. On the other hand, the guitars mainly consist of the low-note chugs we've come to expect from a ton of other deathcore releases nowadays, but they're fine. As generic as they are, they are implemented into the songs pretty well and don't feel like they're just plopped in there, and they manage to dish out some interesting and engaging grooves on top of that (But more on that later). The drums are sort of within that same camp, but their nice balance between simple and complex, from their rhythms during breakdowns to their more technical fills, does place them well above-average.
The weakest part of this musicianship, however, would have to be the clean vocals. They make an appearance every once in a while in songs such as "Face Off" and "The Last Man Standing," and while not bad, they just don't mesh with the rest of the music that well. This actually reminds me of Chelsea Grin's EP "Lilith," in that both albums share the same problem: The singing is just a little too soft and kind of bland to really flow and fall in place with the rest of the heavy, crushing music that "The Proclamation" has to offer. The somewhat risky attempt at creating more dynamic is very much appreciated, but it just wasn't effective enough to really be considered a high point of the record.
The mixing is pretty solid as well, although it could have been done a little better. Something about it is maybe a little over-polished; the guitars in particular have this bizarrely artificial sound to it at times, much like Within The Ruins's newer material. Even so, however, the production does still work; the vocals and instruments sound very distinguishable without being overwhelming or uneven, and it often does well in bringing out the weight and power that the music itself is clearly trying to get across. Much like the musicianship, the sound engineering for this album may not be pitch-perfect, but not to the point where it legitimately ruins anything in it; it's still solid and tight, as it should be.
One of the most noteworthy elements of "The Proclamation" is the sheer amount of groove it has. Whereas "Achilles" was a more straight-forward deathcore album, this one, while still holding on the crushing heaviness of its predecessor, focuses more on having lots of breakdowns and also a bit more melody to it, too. The opening track "Ignite," rather immediately sets this tone, with a thrash-like sound with fast-paced drums, roaring vocals, and simple but grooved chugs. Other highlights include "Outspoken" and "Hunters," both of which are more steady-paced, but nonetheless very enjoyable to listen to. These songs have very little to offer in the way of bringing something really fresh to the table, but there is clearly a lot of life to the music that really works to its benefit.
That isn't to say that this record doesn't have some very fast-paced moments written in as well. Notable tracks include "The Last Man Standing, "Ignite," and "The Conqueror," which, while still holding onto the slower grooves like other tracks, have some What's great about this aspect is that not only are these episodes very exhilarating and potent, but they also help in keeping the music consistently entertaining. In other words, the band putting together both the slow and the fast creates the speed dynamic needed to prevent the music from growing really stale and repetitive; something that quite a number of deathcore bands seem to take for granted. This album is definitely textbook in context with all of the other chug-laden deathcore bands out there, but the amount of dynamic, engaging moments, and vigor put into the music manages to lift it through.
BOTTOM LINE: "The Proclamation" is indeed an enjoyable dose of musical adrenaline, even though it does come off as a little shallow and generic. The musicianship isn't that remarkable for the most part, and the production does sound a bit off at times. Despite that, both mentioned elements still carry their weight fine, and the If you're looking for something that has a lot of depth or innovation to the deathcore genre, your search will likely continue. In fact, people who are totally jaded to said genre might even revile at this. With that said, however, if you don't mind that too much and are just looking for something highly energized and entertaining while still having just enough substance to keep it interesting, "The Proclamation" is far from a bad one to give a chance. Silence The Messenger is still going strong.
