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"Disorder prevails," Enthrope proclaim at their myspace page, a sentiment befitting a band whose name is derived from the word entropy, whose lyrical themes encompass chaos and disintegration, and whose music is as complex and elusive a mixture as a Long Island Iced Tea left out overnight, only a lot more delectable. Among its components are elements of atmospheric, progressive, melodic, dark, and death metal, but with only slight adherence to genre conventions. This Espoo, Finland-based quintet's intertwining of melancholy, menace, and ethereality has very little of the dreariness and lifelessness that characterize so much music of this type. Instead, there is an emphasis on lush, hypnotic sounds covering a wide dynamic range yet curiously lacking in definition.
What makes Silenced Earth so mesmeric is a combination of entrancing melodies, dreamlike, whispery passages, exceptionally well-crafted female choral voices that swirl through the mix (often sounding more seductive than ethereal), and a mind-numbing amount of detail. The individual parts of this aural lavishness, however, are subdued or indistinct. This has nothing to do with the sound quality, which is impeccable, but, rather, with the arrangements and performances. Although heavy and grim, the riffs are somewhat restrained, and the guitar solos are understated and contextually inconspicuous. Miika Partonen's growls (Silenced Earth's only discernible death metal element) could be more articulate, particularly in the layered parts, which sound like the slurred, erratic speech of a drunken crowd. (There has, however, been improvement in this area in comparison to Enthrope's first EP, Universe Mute [2007].) His timbre is quite similar to that of back-up singer/guitarist/synth-man/programmer Ville Keinänen, and it is partially the latter's greater clarity that enables one to distinguish between them.
Keinänen's attitude-dripping, spitting, snarling voice is, in fact, one of the more striking features of Enthrope's sound, his extended, rocking parts in "End It All" perhaps the most rousing moments on the entire EP. Elsewhere, even arresting elements like the syncopated rhythms, Eastern touches, and burrowing segue in "Cloud Six" or the swaggering riffing in "End It All" are all but lost in the sheer abundance of detail and overpowered by the hypnotic qualities. As appealing as the latter are, their dominance dampens the music's energy, limits its aggressiveness, encourages insensible listening, and causes the songs to resonate only in a vague manner. This band has a unique, sophisticated sound, and with the addition of some bolder strokes and an increase in stimulation, Enthrope will, indeed, prevail.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Silence The Earth |
| 2. Cloud Six |
| 3. End It All |
: 17:20
| Buy other Enthrope albums |
