Final Silence are, I gather, mates with the rather excellent Exile The Traitor and dropped us a line here asking us to check out their new release Arcadia. Ever supportive of the self-managed bands (time allowing!), we of course agreed to give it a spin.
The band themselves are from central Scotland and play metal/hardcore. Arcadia is the band’s third release in almost a decade together, and they’ve spent a lot of that time touring and developing their sound. Certainly, in this reviewer’s opinion at least, that procedure has worked. Despite taking a particular noisy and crowded genre such as hardcore, Final Silence have but their own mark on it and produced in Arcadia a release which has a unique twist.
Sure, it’s not going to have any metal/hardcore fans wowing at the vast originality and wondering if they’ll like it – it’s familiar enough that it won’t put any noses out of joint (except maybe in the pit). I think it’s the “metal” part of the sound that edges in and makes its presence known more obviously than in albums from other bands. This is metal…hardcore, not metalcore. It’s like a bimetallic strip, not an alloy. The two parts are separate and complement, lending their own strengths without slopping over into one another. While a hardcore chorus is belting out, a metallic guitar riff can be heard supporting it from beneath. While a hardcore rhythm is urging you to reign chaos, a metal vocal refrain is tempering the situation and focussing you back on the music.
It’s a good mix that works well and it’s what makes this album – and the band – stand out for me. I’d be curious to see how well it holds in the live setting, though I have a feeling that the sheer fury of the music will over-ride and result in typical dancefloor carnage.
Arcadia is due out in July. Follow the band online for further details.
