Review: My Silent Wake – 'Invitation To Imperfection'

MY SILENT WAKE
'Invitation To Imperfection'
OPA LOKA

My Silent Wake have been working hard keeping doom metal relevant, not only within the boarders of Wales but over the course X years and strong albums such as 'The Anatomy Of Melancholy', and 'Damnatio Memoriae' they have gained the respect of fans around the world. Blending ambient and acoustic elements within the core of their doom metal structure. As a result their sound continues to progress and develop in leaps with every album release, and their latest studio effort 'Invitation To Imperfection' is no different.

The album's folksy/medieval and classical elements are front and centre with the album creating a more neofolk tinted darkwave and dark ambient affair that recalls the likes of Arcana, Attrition, Dead Can Dance, Lustmord and Wardruna. Songs such as 'Helgar Kindir', 'Bleak Spring', 'Lament Of The Defeatist', 'Song Of Acceptance', and 'Return Of The Lost At Sea' are haunting with their dark acoustic drones courtesy of folk instruments.

While the likes of 'Volta', 'Aventurine', and 'Nebula' bring in some baroque and classical instruments, as well as synthesizers, for a more grandiose expression of the band's sound. The album's crowning glory has to be the 21-minute-epic journey of 'Melodien Der Waldgeister' with it's long ambling twists as though someone walking through a landscape and happening upon small pockets of musical performers.

Production-wise the album is as solid as you could want from veterans such as My Silent Wake. It may not be their usual territory for such a sustained release but this flipside to the band's sound feels 100% right as though this was their natural state. The songs are intimate yet with cavernous scale, and each fine layer shines through distinctly as part of the greater volume of the work.

Those looking for doom metal might be slightly disappointed but My Silent Wake have never been ones to cater for expectations. With their progressive mindset and previous incorporation of medieval and folk instruments, this still feels like a very natural and organic direction for them. And with over a decade of songwriting experience they know how to craft atmospheres and narratives from their music, not matter what instruments they use, with ease. It is a great effort and one that will undoubtedly be another highpoint in an already impressive discography.  

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