Violent Silence - Kinetic (2005)

Artista: Violent Silence

Álbum: Kinetic
Año: 2005
Género: Crossover Prog
Duración: 50:12
Nacionalidad: Suecia

Lista de Temas:
1. Morning Star
2. Kinetic
3. Torrential Rains
4. Night Lights
5. Sky Burial
6. Subzero
7. Quiet Stalker
8. Homesick

Alineación:
- Phillip Bastin / bass
- Hannes Ljunghall / keyboards
- Björn Westén / keyboards
- Bruno Edling / vocals
- Johan Hedman / drums

Me encanta difundir bandas del under y no solamente de Argentina, ahora presentamos al under suizo con una banda que ya tiene su trayectoria... aunque se formaron en el trash metal, fueron de a poco virando al prog pero incorporando sonidos que encontraron en el camino. Bah, como un rejunte de todo un poco... A veces los rejuntes salen bien, otras veces no. Muy buenos músicos, muy buena base, sobretodo de la bateria, sin guitarras, dos teclados... si te parece interesante seguí leyendo lo que sigue de esta entrada pero para no ilusionar a nadie, debo decir que si no soportas los sonidos novedosos, innovadores, las ganas de explorar nuevos rumbos, ni bajes esto. No es una experimentación en sus composiciones lo que hacen estos muchachos, más bien en cómo interpretan las canciones. Para que se den una idea voy a dar una serie de puntos:

1) No tienen guitarras
2) Tienen dos teclados (claro, eso lo pueden ver en el listado de músicos)
3) Ambos teclados no realizan atmósferas, colchones, sino que "riffean" (por así decirlo) con un sonido bien electrónico en todo momento.
4) En este disco, su sonido pareciera un mezcla entre Metallica y Depeche Mode tocando un progresivo basados en contrapuntos a lo King Crimson con polirritmias, arpegios repetitivos y contrapunteos de teclados permanentes y con elementos de otras bandas melódicas de los '70s: Genesis y UK por ejemplo.
5) Los gustadores de sonidos del 70 se sentirán defraudados aquí, no hay mellotrones ni Hammonds ni nada parecido.
6. Las estructuras de las canciones no son complejas, pero los constantes arreglos y juegos entre teclados más algún ocasional cambio de ritmo hacen que su sonido sea de fácil escucha pero al mismo tiempo se lo puede desmenuzar para encontrar múltiples características.

Imaginen esto, en un reportaje comentaron: "Violent Sicence se creo en base a una vasta mezcolanza de bandas que tocaban metal-progresivo-electrónica-clásica-fusión. En nuestras primeras tocadas siempre interpretábamos un montón de covers. Acostumbrábamos tocar 'Firth of fifth' y 'Riding the scree' de GENESIS, 'Fight fire with fire' de METALLICA, 'Heart of the sunrise' de YES, 'Red' de KING CRIMSON, 'Missing sequences' de VOIVOD, 'Blasphemous rumors' de DEPECHE MODE, 'Time is money' de Frank ZAPPA, 'Cygnus X-1' de RUSH, 'Cold' de THE CURE, 'Reign in blood' y 'South of heaven' de SLAYER. Supongo que puedes hallar los orígenes del sonido de VIOLENT SILENCE en alguna parte de todas estas bandas".
Este es el segundo trabajo de este grupo sueco, el primero que escuché cuando hacía poco había salido y encontré por casualidad a raíz de una pequeño comentarios en el querido Manticornio (espacio en la web que lamentablemente no existe más) al primero luego lo escuché y la verdad es que me pareció muy inferior a éste y que por ello vamos a obviar. Hablando de Manticornio, Alfredo Tapia Carreto lo ubica como uno de sus álbums favoritos.
Si quieren leer el comentario entero, se los copio a continuación:

Qué bueno que no me ganó el impulso (para el primer álbum de VIOLENT SILENCE mi reseña comenzó por el final) y que empecé por el principio a ponerle atención a este álbum, porque de la forma contraria no habría apreciado en todo su esplendor a este gran disco.
Algo que sin duda alguna hizo que VIOLENT SILENCE madurara tanto desde su epónimo llamado, es que sus integrantes siguen juntos. Bruno EDLING (vocales), Hannes LJUNGHALL (teclados), Björn WESTÉN (teclados), Phillip BASTIN (bajo), Johan HEDMAN (batería), han aprendido a conocerse y a entenderse, cosa que se hace evidente en "Kinetic", álbum lleno de intrincadas y expresivas sonoridades. El panfleto que me enviaron junto a este álbum no hace menos la grandilocuencia que lograron estos cinco bárbaros cuando afirma que se trata de un proyecto “intrigante, de batería disciplinada y bajo sólido tocando sobre una plataforma de teclados salvajes y cantos sensibles”. Se trata de un concepto que si bien se oye melódico, sus composiciones son enérgicas y poderosas.
Nombrar al álbum "Kinetic" (Cinético) no podría haber resultado más elocuente. Nos encontramos ante una forma de rock progresivo contemporáneo que surge de la abstracción y que sin duda tiene movimiento y consecución. De la hipnótica 'Grey fluid earth' (aquél magnífico tema que cerró el primer CD de VIOLENT SILENCE) surge una 'Morning star' tranquila y hasta melancólica que cede paso al tema principal, 'Kinetic', cuya enérgica apertura y tratamiento en los teclados me transporta a los recuerdos de los más reconocidos magos del keyboard en los magníficos '70. 'Torrential rains' retoma en su inicio las escalas del tema anterior, sin embargo pronto su estructura se complica, convirtiéndose en un tema rítmico pero complejo por sus quiebres en las direcciones menos esperadas (algo así como si mezclaras KING CRIMSON y GENESIS). 'Night lights', el único tema sin líricos en el concepto, sirve como puente musical. Éste se construye con teclados hechizados, terminando su camino donde empieza 'Sky burial' —mi tema favorito dentro de "Kinetic"—, tema densamente melancólico, de ritmo pausado pero profundo, saturado de una atmósfera que poco a poco te infla de expresión. Sólidos golpes en la batería, bajo profundísimo y constante, teclados que varían entre la hipnosis y el romanticismo, guitarra que se va de aquí para allá acompañando a los demás, líricos sensibles y entonados adecuadamente… 'Subzero' sigue el movimiento que se propuso desde el principio, recordándome esta vez aquél rock progresivo sinfónico de los primeros YES, pero siempre sobre la propuesta original de VIOLENT. El momento cumbre llega con la enorme 'Quiet stalker', cuyo inicio a ruidos diferentes se destruye con la solidez de los tambores y un vaivén de tempo denso y hasta agotador, preparando de seguro una explosión. Más o menos a partir de los cuatro minutos de iniciada esta pieza, los sonidos empiezan a ganar fuerza y los movimientos comienzan a notarse más marcados. La máxima expresión se alcanza hacia la mitad de la obra, donde las mejores remembranzas son notorias pero por la cualidad del grupo para combinarlas sin perder su propio estilo (de hecho hasta lo refuerzan) no resultan ser algo que demerite la originalidad del grupo, por el contrario, le dan identidad. 'Quiet stalker' termina como empezó pero más grandilocuente, permitiendo a 'Homesick' aparecerse de a poquito, suavizando con su rica melodía la descarga de poder brutal que terminó.
"Kinetic" no tardó en convertirse en uno de mis favoritos y por ello lo postulo como uno de los mejores álbumes del cero cinco. Sin embargo, comprendiendo que en cuestión de gustos se rompen géneros, te invito a que leas la entrevista con Johan HEDMAN (antes de adquirir el CD si es que acaso no lo tienes ya) donde él mismo describe el nuevo álbum y aterriza en diferentes opiniones. Como sea, me parece claro que es un disco que se apreciará por cualquiera que disfrute de los ritmos densos e intrincados.

Alfredo Tapia Carretp

Bueno, veamos que tal les suena a su paladar musical este rejunte. Por mi parte, teniendo en cuenta la originalidad de su sonido, la expresividad musical del álbum (desde canciones notablemente melancólicas hasta aquellas furiosas que alternan con pasajes melódicos), la calidad, y sus ganas de emprender caminos nuevos, le otorgo a este álbum un cálido saludo a nuestro catálogo cabezón donde se juntan los clásicos y lo moderno, lo nacional y lo internacional, el rock y el folcklore, el jazz y el R.I.O., todo se junta en este blog mientras se trate de lo que consideramos como buena música.
En todo caso no me den importancia y juzguen por ustedes mismos...

Segundo trabajo de este quinteto sueco, bajo el siempre pujante y sobrecogedor sello Progress Records.
Lo primero que me llamó la atención de esta banda fué el ver que usan dos tecladistas y no cuentan con guitarras. Realmente me entusiasmó porque soy un ultra-aficionado al progresivo con prominencia de este instrumento. Lo segundo que me llamó la atención fue escuchar que en la mayoría de los casos, este instrumento es usado como si fuera una guitarra de acompañamiento, me explico: no es para dar atmósferas necesariamente, sino para acompañar melodías con una sensación de riffeo constante. Lo mejor sería que lo escucharan para poder entender esta loquera que estoy escribiendo.
El sonido en general está mas cercano en estructura a la fusión que al progresivo sinfónico, aunque el nivel de intensidad no es tan alto. Quizás rayen en lo electrónico por momentos, pero este comentario lo encamino más hacia un cumplido que hacia una queja.
Realmente diferente. La escena sueca sigue dando bandas tan disímiles pero familiares a la vez. Recomendado de nuevo a aquellos que quieran algo elaborado, elegante pero sin llegar a aturdir con complejidads innecesarias.

Jesus Diaz

Vamos a destacar, también, que los diferentes comentaristas no se logran poner de acuerdo con éste disco, y las alusiones al mismo son variadísimas, que sí es moderno, que no es moderno, que sí tiene sonido nuevo, que no tiene sonido novedoso, que es buenísimo, que es mediocre, y así estamos, así que más que nunca deja emerger el espíritu crítico que hay en tí y escucha el disco para sacar tus propias conclusiones.
A continuación, una serie de tipos que dan su impresión sobre el disco y no se ponen de acuerdo:

I remember buying the debut from these Swedes after reading some very positive reviews on different progsites. I was intrigued by the fact that they had no guitarist in their line-up and that almost all the reviewers mentioned quite different bands they were supposed to sound like: Anglagard, late King crimson, Rush, Police, Gentle Giant, Elp, Mars Volta, Uk, Landberk and Anekdoten. When I listened to it I found it good and absolutely unique but a bit samey and impenetrable at first. But there was something about it that made me come back to it. After some more listens it finally clicked with me and I now consider it one of the best records of 2003.
The sound of the band is indeed hard to describe. The swirling synthesizers often play contrapuntal lines with the sound of marimbas which gives the music a floating, hypnotic and very dense impression. The rhythm section, which is one of the strongest I´ve ever heard, play steady, heavy and sometimes quite jazzy rhythms. And it´s all topped off with the very good voice of singer Bruno Edling, who also surprises with some great and very memorable vocal lines over the complicated rhythms. Sometimes the music is very heavy and dissonant almost bordering on progmetal, sometimes it´s very mellow and melodic. Sometimes it´s extremely complex but they never lose sight of what constitutes a good song, dense arrangements or not. The second album Kinetic finds them adding an additional keyboardist and new textures and sounds to their already unique music. What´s more is that this time the results are even more extraordinary.
1. Morning Star (10/10)
A short, very quiet and melancholy intro with some great melodies and some odd twists and turns. A very dynamic little song with a sublime final section, which soon gives way to.
2. Kinetic (10/10)
.the ridiculously fast and heavy titletrack. This is one track which makes it impossible for me to sit still. The energy level is extraordinary and is topped off by some eye- poppingly fast and off-kilter virtuosity courtesy of the fantastic rhythm section. Great melodies as well. After the intensity level reaches boilingpoint, the song calms down for a heavy and very majestic final section.
3. Torrential Rains (10/10)
A very appropriate song title as this track with its heavy use of marimbas really conveys the sound of a storm in effect. The music in the first two verses are heavy, strange and brooding and gives way to a fast and very melodic chorus that will stay in your mind for days afterwards. Once again the rhythm section shines like a lighthouse, especially drummer Johan Hedman. Not to take anything away from the rest of this great song but the midsection is absolutely blinding.
4. Night Lights (8/10)
A nice little intermission that almost feels like its too short. A very good and atmospheric piece of music nonetheless.
5. Sky Burial (10/10)
After the energy of the first half of the album the band drops it all down quite a few notches for the slow, sluggish and spacey Sky Burial which carries some of the best melodies I´ve heard in quite some time. The hypnotic trance of the keyboards is spellbinding. The icing on the cake are the very touching lyrics and a dreamy and melodic mid section. Pure genius.
6. Subzero (10/10)
After the brilliance of the first five tracks you´d be forgiven for thinking that this level of songwriting can´t last. Not so as the band launches into Subzero, the most melodic track on the album. I´ve read in an other review that this would be a hit if it was released as a single in the seventies. I couldn´t agree more. Great chorus and an insanely fantastic midsection where the keyboardists duel it out.
7. Quiet Stalker
An ominous intro gives way to the very strange chords underlying the quite hard-to- grasp vocal lines that open the albums 18-minute centrepiece Quiet Stalker. It´s one whale of a song which covers every mood and every aspect imaginable of prog or art rock or whatever. Initially it is a daunting and not so easy task to figure out the piece because of the ingenuity and the complexity of the writing, but when you do the rewards are staggering. The highlight is the long instrumental mid section which is too great for words. I´ve always found it hard to find a long track that is as good as Close to the Edge, Gates of Delirium or Supper´s Ready. This time I´ve finally found one. True Genius and one of the greatest pieces of music I´ve ever heard!
8. Homesick (7/10)
A floating and peaceful outro that puts the final stamp on the blinding quality that oozes out of this monumental work as a whole.
Because of the bands uniqueness in sound some things on the album might take a while to sink in. But I plead to anyone reading this to give this great band a thorough listen. Whether or not you prefer 70´s prog, prog metal or art rock. I promise you that you will not be disappointed.
In a perfect world this would sell by the bucketload because to me this is nothing short of a future classic. Needless to say this is one highly recommended piece of music.

Tobi Sasco

This is the second effort from Swedish five piece formation Vilent Silence. I am not familiar with their fist one but listening to Kinetic I have to say that they are an interesting new progrock band. Their music often sounds like an encounter of electronic music (keyboards), symphonic rock (structure of the songs) and progressive metal (dynamic and powerful rhythm-section). The two keyboard players are omnipresent, they colour the compositions lush and tasteful with modern and varied sounds. Highlight is the long track Quiet Stalker (at about 18 minutes) featuring many shifting moods and spectacular keyboard sounds. Only the vocals sometimes sound a bit dull. To me Violent Silence is a fresh and promising band, perhaps the addition of a guitarplayer will give the music more variety, some tracks tend to sound a bit similar. But in general this CD has lots of strong musical ideas.

Erik Neuteboom

Check it out, man. Even if you don't dig the reviews, be sure to at least listen to one song (Kinetic would be a good gauge) in case you really like it. Because if you do, you'll probably think you've discovered something unique and exotic.
This is nothing like I possess in my collection. Just like Carptree a few months ago, Sweden once again gives us tremendous innovation with Violent Silence. This band has a sound that's 100% fresh. Althought the band chemistry has been used in bands like Fürhs Shick and Fröling (2 keyboardists), Emerson Lake and Palmer, Triumvirat or Trace, this has nothing to do with them! Honestly, maybe a blend of the 'Vespertine' album by Björk and Boards of Canada could give you an idea. To me, this is 2005's freshest pick!
Yep, not one inch of guitar. 2 keyboardists and a drummer is enough to create a whole new sound as well as a new world. Sometimes you're caught in a harsh snow storm, the other it's gazing at snowflakes slowly falling down a cloudy day. The atmosphere is easy to taste, but I cannot use another word but 'freezing' to describe a theme of winter. Many times the keys reminds me of video games tunes (especially Mega Man series) I used to like, maybe the xylophone and vintage sounds are in for something? A real sense of nostalgia is emerging, I hope you'll catch it too.
This is not electronic prog per se, but it comes close in terms of feeling. Amateurs of Mogwai, Tortoise or Boards of Canada in the legendary album 'Music has the Right to Children'. Some sites thought this is hard to get into, I frankly have to say that to me, this has benn a natural move; jumping from symphonic to electronica.
Different, moody and exquisite.

Jonathan Payeur

An interesting band from Sweden who have a fairly unique sound. That's in part to the fact they have no guitarist and two keyboardists. The vocalist has a modern sound to his singing which i'm not really a fan of. I do like how melancholic this album is, I just wish there was some of that Lifeson style ("Permanent Waves") guitar instead of just keyboards. Still this is a pretty good album that has been getting very good reviews.
"Morning Star" opens with soft sounds as reserved vocals join in. Synths and keyboards only end it in a melancholic manner. "Kinetic" is where we get some energy with drums and synths leading. Vocals a minute in. I like the instrumental section 3 1/2 minutes in. Vocals are back a minute later. A calm after 5 minutes to end it again in a melancholic way. "Torrential Rains" opens with synths before the heaviness takes over followed by vocals. "Night Lights" is a short and sad soundscape with synths and organ.
"Sky Burial" features drums, keyboards and vocals. A laid back and at times dreamy tune. "Subzero" is one of the few tracks where I can hear the bass. Again synths, vocals and drums standout. "Quiet Stalker" is the epic at 18 minutes. It's dark and experimental early. I like it. Drums and vocals after a minute. Not a fan of this though. The instrumental section before 5 minutes is better and more intense. Vocals are back unfortunately. It's heavier after 9 minutes with drums and synths. "Homesick" is the short conclusion. Synths build slowly as soft vocals join in. Kind of cool.
It seems like the critics and fans love this album so take my 3 stars rating with a grain of salt. And why do I have such a hard time saying the band's name ?

John Davie

Prog without guitar has been done many times but never quite like this. Crisp electronic synth patches shine like polished chrome, "playing off" one another in modern counterpoint. Although beautifully lush moments are not infrequent, the real surprise is how often this music powerfully flirts with the borderline of hard rock and even metal.
Without sequencing ahead of time, it would take more than 2 hands to perform this music live. Good thing they have 2 keyboardists in the band! Bass Guitar and a real drumkit successfully conspire to retain some measure of organic warmth.
One cautionary note: although the compositions vary, the "sound" never strays too far from a relatively focused timbral range. (Perhaps that is a plus for fans of "continuity!) With a combination of coloration and style as unique as this, I can't say I blame the band for staking this sonic territory as their own. I am left wondering, however, at what point, might this 'signature sound' impose boundaries upon their range of expression? That, however, is a question for future albums. For now, I simply cannot consider this as anything less than a major breakthrough for the sound of modern progressive rock.

Mark Stephens

Violent Silence is five piece band from Sweden with 2 albums released so far. The second release from 2005 named Kinetic is true gem in prog filed. Quite original in many parts, this band sounds fresh and inventive most of the time. I'm not aware of their first album, but this one is really great from start to finish. This is the type of prog without guitar and instead the keyboards has an important role here, but don't expect something a la ELP, no, this is diffrent and is very good and original. The music is powerfull, intresting and has plenty of memorable passages, specially in pieces like Torrential Rains or Kinetic, very strong musicianship. What is intresting on this release is that they incorporated in the eclectic sound some very strong electronic keyboards, that goes very well here in this context. Quiet Stalker is a 18 min long tune with some fantstic instrumental passages, nice moods and twists here, the 2 keybordist done a very nice job, really great. Kinetic is one of the albums that needs a far better recognition world wide because they worth it big time. Original and inventive are the words to discribe this little album very unknown. Well done guys. 4 stars easy and recommended.

B. Olariu

The musically rich and fertile country of Sweden has led another challenger to the table, in the form of up and comers Violent Silence, to take their shot at prog rock supremacy. The quintet was formed back in 1999 and their debut CD was eventually issued in 2003 via the Record Haven label. Fast forward to 2005, the band makes the move to Progress Records who now releases their sophomore effort Kinetic, suddenly the time could be right for the band to receive some much deserved attention. What stands out upon listening to this disc is just how well they fill up their sound without any guitars, that's right no guitars. Violent Silence aren't the first to try their hand at this, it's been done before, but I think it's more of a challenge to create a sonic landscape within this field of music minus a six stringer. There is always the possibility of straying off course and veering into other genres at the risk of being labeled or lumped into another category, such as ambient or electronica for example. However isn't that what prog was originally supposed to be all about, to push the boundaries of conventional rock, to blur the lines a bit and to take the music to another level? If anything it raises the bar a bit more for a band like Violent Silence, a challenge these guys seem eager to tackle.
The disc opens with the dreamy almost ambient sounding, "Morning Star" which features gentle keyboard textures perfectly matching the hushed vocal delivery of Bruno Edling. This sets up the title track which begins with an almost techno style intro before you become aquianted with the frantic and busy drum work of Johan Hedman. I must say Hedman does a fantastic job all over this disc, he is one of the busiest drummers around and the band along with co-producer Carl Vikman managed to get a nice warm, brown sound on his drums. It might have been a more logical choice for the band had they decided to pursue a more synthetic sound, percussion wise to match the duo keyboard attack of Hannes Ljunghall and Bjorn Westen, but it probably would have left the music sounding cold, so in essence Hedman's acoustic drums and busy playing creates a perfect synergy. In fact for a band to employ 2 keyboardists, the sound throughout Kinetic has a surprisingly analogue feel. I was expecting the sound to be a lot colder as I mentioned, but both Westen and Ljunghall opt for a warmer feel, keeping solo's on the relative backburner, instead focusing more on creating their rich soundscapes and aural tapestries, as if to emphasize pure emotion over technicality, not to say any of these musicians are anything less than extremely skilled. I was impressed at the different textures they were able to generate such as the marimba styled intro on "Torrential Rains", actually these sounds pop up in a few other songs as well. Hedman's drums along with Phillip Bastin's thick bass lines, drive the rhythm along underneath a short Tony Banks like solo halfway through.
The fourth track "Nightlights" is a short instrumental leading the way into my personal favorite off Kinetic, the absolutely gorgeous "Sky Burial", which lyrically seems to deal with a son's finally coming to terms with the death of his Father. The song is beautifully executed on all fronts, from Edling's passionate vocal delivery to once again some fantastic, emotionally moving keyboard passages. Kinetic basically closes with an epic 18 minute track called "Quiet Stalker", a song which finds the band pulling out all the stops musically and features a few long, tasty keyboard solos which not only highlights Westin and Ljunghall's stunning technique, but also proves just how cohesive the whole band actually is.
I would definitely recommend this disc to SOT listeners and if Kinetic doesn't yield the band some major attention and give them a major push to the forefront of progressive music, then I would be very surprised, not to mention disappointed.

Ryan Sparks

Una mezcla perfecta de la melodía y la complejidad, un álbum sorprendente y sofisticado que llega de Suecia y una visita obligada para todos aquellos que no necesariamente quiere escuchar guitarras en primer plano. A veces furioso, a menudo desencadenado y rimbombante, ocasionalmente potente pero siempre lleno de dinamismo. Un disco muy sabroso que los invito a conocer, para que descubran los múltiples caminos que se están tomando para seguir creando no solamente buena música sino también novedosa, sea lo que eso sea. No lo dejen pasar sin escucharlo... y si te gusta el disco te comento que vamos a seguir con estos suecos, ya estoy preparando la entrada para su último disco.