Reviewed - 03/05/06
Silent Stage
[Spikefarm Records]
For those who may not be familiar with this doom metal group, Rapture has released three albums, with Silent Stage being their third album. Having enjoyed their previous album Songs for the Withering, I was setting myself up for one of two things upon listening to Silent Stage: either it was going to be even better or it was going to fall way short of my expectations. As someone who usually has higher expectations for follow-ups to great albums, I actually thought that it wasn’t going to even be close to good. After listening to the album though, I came away pleasantly surprised about how good Silent Stage was and that instead of trying to compare it to Songs for the Withering, I came to accept it for what it was on its own.
Opener “Misery 24/7” is decidedly more up-tempo than any other Rapture song I have heard, even more so than “The Vast” from Songs for the Withering. The song was good, but I thought that with this up-tempo style, that maybe the doom and gloom was going to get lost in the translation. This continues on “The Past Nightmares,” with hints of slower melodies mixed in. It isn’t until track three, “I am Complete,” that the Rapture I was familiar with that I began to let go of the expectations and begin to enjoy it for its own merits. With each progressing track, it seems that I was listening to the soundtrack for a downward spiral into oblivion. Where Rapture really hits bottom is on tracks “Dreaming into Oblivion” and “The Times We Bled (Closure),” my two favorite tracks on the entire album.
Will I say that Silent Stage is the best album Rapture has put out to date? No, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like the album. If this were released by another group, it would probably be a career highlight for the. Whereas Songs for the Withering would be a great album for the cold, rainy day, Silent Stage would be the album if I was to have descended into a state of depression. Had the first two tracks maintained a sense of doom while going up-tempo, I would give the album a higher rating. Still, once you get past those two tracks, it all goes downhill from there and in doom metal, that’s a good thing.
[Spikefarm Records]
For those who may not be familiar with this doom metal group, Rapture has released three albums, with Silent Stage being their third album. Having enjoyed their previous album Songs for the Withering, I was setting myself up for one of two things upon listening to Silent Stage: either it was going to be even better or it was going to fall way short of my expectations. As someone who usually has higher expectations for follow-ups to great albums, I actually thought that it wasn’t going to even be close to good. After listening to the album though, I came away pleasantly surprised about how good Silent Stage was and that instead of trying to compare it to Songs for the Withering, I came to accept it for what it was on its own.
Opener “Misery 24/7” is decidedly more up-tempo than any other Rapture song I have heard, even more so than “The Vast” from Songs for the Withering. The song was good, but I thought that with this up-tempo style, that maybe the doom and gloom was going to get lost in the translation. This continues on “The Past Nightmares,” with hints of slower melodies mixed in. It isn’t until track three, “I am Complete,” that the Rapture I was familiar with that I began to let go of the expectations and begin to enjoy it for its own merits. With each progressing track, it seems that I was listening to the soundtrack for a downward spiral into oblivion. Where Rapture really hits bottom is on tracks “Dreaming into Oblivion” and “The Times We Bled (Closure),” my two favorite tracks on the entire album.
Will I say that Silent Stage is the best album Rapture has put out to date? No, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like the album. If this were released by another group, it would probably be a career highlight for the. Whereas Songs for the Withering would be a great album for the cold, rainy day, Silent Stage would be the album if I was to have descended into a state of depression. Had the first two tracks maintained a sense of doom while going up-tempo, I would give the album a higher rating. Still, once you get past those two tracks, it all goes downhill from there and in doom metal, that’s a good thing.
 | |
Tracklist:
| |
| Rating: 8.5/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 41:27 | |
| Review By: Peter Santellan | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Band's Website: Go Here | |
 |