Silent Planet Break Through Metalcore Barriers With 2018 Full Length ‘When The End Began’

Silent Planet, an American metalcore band hailing from Los Angeles, California, are set to release their third full-length on November 2nd. Silent Planet has become a prominent face in the metalcore music scene, pushing the band to its full potential and this upcoming release is no exception.

The album calmly creeps in with the intro “Thus Spoke,” before frontman Garrett Russell’s vocals come blaring through your speakers. The intro is the ideal way to start the masterpiece that is When The End Began and the lyrics toward the end of the intro track are reminiscent of previous works. The line “the night God slept” pays homage to their 2014 full-length fan favorite, while “everything was sound” gives credit to their follow up full length released in 2016 that incorporated themes of PTSD, eating disorders, police brutality, and suicide.

Don’t let the calm end of the intro fool you, because the second track “The New Eternity” quickly picks up where it left off and doesn’t hold anything back.  Along with Garrett’s vocals, this is where you get the first taste of clean vocals from guitarist Thomas Freckleton. Both vocalists fit so well together and give you the sound that Silent Planet is known for.

In the third track, “Northern Fires (Guernica),” you get a feel for the diverse new tuning Silent Planet chose to move along with, packing a dynamic but djent-y punch. After being released as the first single off the album, it received mostly positive reviews and got old fans pumped for new music, and teased new fans with a band which would quickly be placed at the top of their music playlists in anticipation of more.

“In Absence” feels like the most musically diverse track. It has the Silent Planet sound, but it differs from the rest of the album in its own way, taking its musical time more obviously than the rest. The song speaks of the many memory disorders, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s — which is a topic that hits close to home for many individuals, including myself.

“Share the Body” was released alongside a music video as the third single from WTEB. The single focuses on another topic that hits hard for many people around the world, especially in the United States where opioid addiction and overdose have become an epidemic. Halfway through the track, Garrett breaks out in almost a slow metalcore rap. A favorite lyric among Silent Planet fans also appears in this song, with Garrett yelling “I hit the bottom and it hit me back.” There’s a catchiness that helps hold the band’s work together evident on WTEB like on their previous releases.

Track 13, “The Anatomy of Time (Babel)” is easily one of my top 3 tracks. Garrett’s vocals rip through the instrumentals, the instrumentals rip through your core, and Thomas’ clean vocals are catchy and will have you singing along, while Anatomy gives you a classic Silent Planet sound.

After 14 tracks, When The End Began finally comes to a close with “Depths III.” Many fans will likely be left wishing there was more.  The album doesn’t disappoint in the least bit and the closing track is one that is highly anticipated among Planet fans.

In both “Depths” and “Depths II” from previous releases by the band, “When I slept in that garden, Lord did you see me as I was dreaming?” can be heard. The build up to both of those lyrics in each of the songs are some of the standout moments in Silent Planets discography. In Depths III, the line has been changed a little bit, and Garrett now screams “And when I awoke in that garden, Lord did you see me as I was dreaming?” While the build-up might not be as fast and big as it was in the previous versions, the latter half shows just what Silent Planet is all about and in my opinion, closes out WTEB incredibly well.

5/5 Stars

Listen to “The New Eternity” below via Spotify