Genre/Influences: Post-punk, rock-goth, cold-wave.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Swedish formation Then Comes Silence has already been active for a couple of years now. “Machine” is the band’s fourth full length, released in Europe by PSP/Oblivion and in the US by Metropolis. Alex Svenson (vocals, bass and synthesizers), Jonas Fransson (drums), Mattias Ruejas Jonson (guitars) and Hugo Zombie (guitars) worked together with producer Alex Svenson while the album has been mixed by Stefan Glaumann (who already worked together with bands such Rammstein, Clawfinger, The 69 Eyes, Killing Joke ao).
Content: “Machine” moves on there where previous albums stopped. You’ll rapidly recognize the band’s main influences, which are moving from typical post-punk and cold-wave music towards rock-goth. I’ve always recognized some elements in the composition –and still in the way of singing, reminding me of The Mission. It’s not that different for “Machine”, but I think it’s mainly because of the mixed influences. The songs are carried by solid guitar parts, injecting the true spirit of Then Comes Silence in the songs. It’s even fascinating to hear the way guitar playing can bring you into trance, “In Your Name” being the ultimate cut in the genre. This album stands for power, rage and darkness.
+ + + : This album stands for a great production devoted to the so-called post-punk genre. The guitar parts are simply amazing. The mewing guitar parts are leading the songs towards a higher dimension. I already mentioned the sublime “In your Name”, but “Ritual” featuring duo vocals with Karolina Engdahl is another outstanding cut. Both songs are leading the album towards climaxes and that’s precisely what makes music lovers happy when listening to music. A few more songs are featuring female backing vocals –by guest singers, which each time again are injecting a heavenly touch to the work.
– – – : I don’t see any significant minor point to mention.
Conclusion: “Machine” is what I would label as a ‘great’ album when it comes to evoke post-punk, cold-wave and related music genres.
Best songs: “In Your Name”, “Ritual”, “I Gave you Everything”, “Dark End”, “Devil”.
Rate: (9).
Artist: www.facebook.com/thencomessilence
Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords
Since you’re here … … we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive. If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 2 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
