Label: Massacre Records
Review by Tony Cannella
Not to be confused with the female fronted Italian metal band of the same name, THIS Silent Opera hails from France and were formed in 2007. In 2010 this symphonic power/death metal band released their inaugural EP, “Act One”. Now the band is signed to Massacre and the release of their full-length debut (“Reflections”) is upon us.
The first thing about “Reflections” that got my attention was the duel male/female vocals utilized by Silent Opera. Laura Laborde’s vocals are very much in the operatic range whilst Steven Shriver uses the death metal style of singing. Next, Silent Opera combines dramatic classy epic style numbers with more aggressive, thrashy material, their ability to do that with conviction is a testament to the diversity of the band. I may be wrong here but musically, the band strikes me as somewhat theatrical and cinematic as well. There is also a level of technicality with the music on the record that is pretty cool. After the intro “Beyond the Gate of a Deep Slumber” the band launches into the 8-minute opener “Nightmare Circus” and we are off and running. About the only the only time the band comes up for air is on the uber melancholic piano driven tune “Chronicles of An Infinite Sadness”. The album is completed with the 11 ½ minute epic “Sailor, Siren and Bitterness”. Other highlights include: “Dorian” and “The Great Chessboard”. The thing I liked about Silent Opera is their ability to combine aggression with beauty and power with melancholy. A large part of that is due to the duel beauty and the beast male/female vocals are used to perfection on “Reflections”.
Rating – 85/100
Tracklist
- Beyond the Gate of a Deep Slumber
- Nightmare Circus
- Dorian
- The Great Chessboard
- Fight or Drift
- Dawn of The Fool
- Chronicles of an Infinite Sadness
- Inner Museum
- Sailor, Siren and Bitterness
Line Up
- Laure Laborde – Vocals
- Steven Schriver – Vocals
- Romain Larregain – Guitar
- Laura Nicogossian – Keyboards
- Olivier Sentenac – Bass
- Jon Erviti – Drums