If you were to ask me the first time I heard this band, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you. However I can tell you that in 2005 when the band Silverstein released their second studio album "When Broken Is Easily Fixed", I ran to the store, shelled out my $19.99, and listened to it nonstop for quite sometime. It was amazing, and as a young teenager, I had found a new genre of music to explore.
If you're not familiar with them, Silverstein is a 5-piece Post-Hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario. Their sound is unmistakable without being drastically different from other bands of the same genre. The melodic vocals have a typical early 00's Pop-Punk feel, much like bands Taking Back Sunday or Blink 182, but the screams and growls always come heavy to break the them up. Silverstein is probably on the lighter side of today's Hardcore spectrum, but that doesn't mean a scarcity of dirty breakdowns and powerful heavy guitar sounds.
What makes Silverstein stand out for me in a sea of Hardcore bands all striving for fame and fortune is...well...hundreds of reasons. But I'll keep it brief.
First of all, they've been going hard for 11 years now, and with the release of their newest album, they're not showing signs of slowing down. In fact, their latest album "Rescue" is Silverstein's 5th studio album. Over the course of these 11 long years, the band's talent has obviously increased, but they've managed to keep their own sound. Some would say that all of their songs sound the same, which yes, to a certain extent they do. I don't see this as an issue, instead I see it as something admirable. In 2003 Silverstein released their first studio album "When Broken is Easily Fixed", and ever since, they've managed to consistently release an amazing sounding album every two years. To me, Silverstein's stability is one of their greatest virtues.
The second of these great virtues is the sheer power of their lyrics. I know it's a little cliché, but Silverstein definitely got me. No matter what I was going through growing up, there was a song that seemed to specifically speak to me; almost like a good friend sitting beside you saying "It's all gonna be okay, you'll see." Whether it was falling in love, being in love or getting your heart broken. Being happy. Being sad. Being made fun of, picked on, or pushed around. Divorce. Cancer. It seemed like Silverstein was there, writing each song just for me.
Anyways, I started writing this as an album review, but now I feel that the best way for me to show my admiration of Silverstein's new album "Rescue", is to acknowledge their ability to stay true to their sound, themselves, and their fans throughout these past 11 years, and even a change of record labels. Here's a taste of each of the bands previous 4 albums, and a bit of their amazing 5th album.
Off of When Broken Is Easily Fixed (2003)
Wish I Could Forget You
Off of Discovering The Waterfront (2005)
Fist Wrapped In Blood
Off of Arrivals And Departures (2007)
Bodies And Words
Off of A Shipwreck In The Sand (2009)
Vices (feat. Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats)
>Off of Rescue (2011)
Forget Your Heart
Texax Mickey (feat. Anthony Raneri of Bayside)
Intervention
