POSTHUMOUS SILENCE

I found myself pretty surprised by this record. This band is filed under the neo-prog flag but in fact, the music on "Posthumous silence" is a lot more original and diverse. There's definitely some neo prog ingredients but there's a noticeable Floyd influence as well and some tracks like "In Chains" and "Answer to life" come close to vintage prog metal. But there's more. There's an atmospheric sound spread all over the record. This is simply awesome to hear !

This is clearly a concept album where all tracks form a unit. If you listen to PS, you should listen from start to finish to understand the album's concept. This task is not hard to accomplish because the music is so compelling, I can't manage to reach the 'power off' button. If this was released in the vinyl era, it would have been a double album but now there's 70 minutes of wonderful music on one cd. So we don't have any filler, every track has a right to be there. Therefore it's hard to mention some highlights or flaws. Sylvan keep the level of composition high, constantly.

Like on many conceptual releases, emotion is the keyword. The feelings of despair and suicide don't get too much grip on the listener thanks to the modern sound and fresh production. The album is a succession of calm, intimate and violent bombastic moments.

Musically, there's an awful lot of keyboards which provides a great diversity of sounds. On the background melodies, one can recognise the hypnotic keys which also can also be found on the latest albums of Anathema. Some of the tracks have orchestral arrangements which include some violin parts that suits the sound of the album well. The vocals are also awesome and it's unbelievable to hear what the singer is capable of ; one moments he sounds like Midge Ure while later on he sounds like a typical metal vocalist. Only on a couple of the calmer moments his vocals fail to impress.

Most of all the inspired melodies make this album special. Moreover the different tracks are balanced compositions which flow into each other very smooth. You actually have to take a look on the cd player to notice when one track is finished and a new one just begun.

Conclusion : This has to be one of the best prog releases of 2006 ; recommended !