If you are a fan of metalcore and attend a fair amount of concerts throughout the year, Silent Planet is a band that you have most likely seen a few times or at least heard a fair deal about. You may also know that their third studio album When The End Began is due to release this Friday, November 2nd, from Solid State Records. The California band has hovered just barely under the radar for years and their two previous full length studio albums definitely got them some attention, but just a few songs into this new release, you'll understand why I'm calling for the well overdue breakout of this band.

They are no strangers to the road and have been putting in the constant grind, with nearly endless touring over the last couple years; including two consecutive years on Vans Warped Tour in 2016 and 2017. In 2018 they had their first headline tour and which turned out to be an enormous success. The band is extremely humble though, and would never admit that they expected such an overwhelmingly positive response. With the fanbase secured and the work being put in on the road, this third album could make or break the band at such a pivotal point in their career. 

When The End Began has everything that you would expect from the California four-piece band; emotion, heavy riffs, crushing breakdowns, and of course the raw lyrical content. Lead vocalist, Garrett Russell, is the sole remaining founding member of the band and is a true artist when it comes to writing some of the most thought-provoking and real lyrics in the rock and roll/metal genres. His spoken word style of screaming is also something that sets this band apart from the cookie cutter style that it can be so easy to fall into. On this album, Russel talks about the opioid epidemic, consumerism, war, and various other topics throughout the three themes of the album; apocalypse, 'eternal return', and the crisis of the modern world. These three themes were talked about in detail by Russel during an album synopsis that can be found HERE.

The album begins in an ambient track, much like something you would hear in a horror movie, slow and steady percussion begins behind the haunting sounds before Garrett Russel enters in with a much louder combination of of ambient sound and drums. The spoken word style intro briefly sets the tone for the entire album, before throwing you right into the thick of it with "The New Eternity" that more or less describes the horrors of the Vietnam war and the unthinkable chemical weapons that were used in the name of war. 

"Mother, tell me, why do the waters make us sick? 
Who bleeds the heavens making the clouds rain pestilence?"

The album continues on the theme of war in the next track, "Northern Fires (Guernica)". Focusing on the Spanish Civil War and written while Russell was living in Spain, the track was released as the first single of the new album and the Silent Planet vocalist had this to say about the song through a post on his Instagram: "I’m stoked to share this first single with you beautiful souls. Dealing with various themes and events surrounding the Spanish Civil War, this song was a year-long process. What began during my time living in Madrid, now ends here as I’m writing this from a field in deep rural Georgia."

The onslaught continues through heavy riffs and topics through the next couple songs, "Afterdusk" and "Visible Unseen", before breaking for a chance to breathe during the first interlude style track "Look Outside - Dream". But your chance to take it in doesn't last long before hitting you in the face with the ideas of consumerism through "Vanity of Sleep" and then comforting you through the realities of dealing with loved ones developing memory loss disorders. "In Absence" is a departure from the heavy nature of the album with a nearly full song of clean vocals and much calmer riffs. While the lyrical subject matter is still heavy and deep, the music is lighter and much more ‘peaceful’. "In Absence" really displays the gritty clean vocals of bassist Thomas Freckleton, and while most songs feature clean choruses, this song has to be the most memorable vocal performance by Freckleton on this album. 

"I’m writing you from a hospital waiting room, praying that an older gentleman (who has become family to me) makes it our from his transplant surgery in one piece. As I get older, I’m more mystified by life and wonder if coincidence is all that random. And in this very moment, this song makes more sense than ever.

We’ve had family and friends develop memory disorders – Dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc. and learned to love someone who no longer knew who we were. If you’ve gone through that process, you know the unique sort of pain this can cause. So this is a love song for those folks and their families."

Silent PlanetSilent Planet performing at the 2016 Vans Warped Tour in Virginia Beach VA

The heavy nature of Silent Planet's music is not only displayed through the arrangements of riffs and drums that could stand alone as memorable instrumentals, but through the lyrics as is obvious from everything I've described already; and that is merely only half of this album. This album is an incredible 14 tracks of being punched in the face with the raw reality of the world, past and present. The first half of the album includes my favorite parts of this album with "The New Eternity" and "Northern Fires (Guernica)" being my standout songs on the album, and I really enjoy the more rock style of "In Absence". However, that is not to undermine the remainder of the album. While notably not as heavy as the first half, the downward slope of this album could easily be released as a completely different album with the substance of the first 7-8 songs. 

One of the more notable issues the world is facing today, is the opioid crisis. "Share the Body" tells the story of the increase of the already high opioid abuse in America, and the music released by the band depicts vocalist Garrett Russell's character's struggle with addiction. 

"The epidemic of our time,
a voluntary genocide."

"Firstborn (Ya'aburnee)" and "Lower Empire" follow, with the latter being the most surprising track on the album. The interesting use of vocoder-vocals and synth lines that had me with my mouth open, caught me so off guard, that it was the first song I listened to immediately after finishing the album. 

Finally, you have a moment to breathe again, "Look Inside- Awake" is the final interlude track of the album and sits before the final two songs, "The Anatomy of Time (Babel)" and "Depths III". The latter follows a continuation of the previous tracks "Depths" and "Depths II" from previous releases. These songs are derived from a dream that vocalist Garrett Russel has had and seems a fitting ending to the album as "Depths II" closed out their first full length The Night God Slept. 

As I mentioned at the start of all of this, When The End Began should end up being Silent Planet's most noteworthy release to date. The flawless poetic lyrical writing and vocals of Garret Russel are front and center but the song writing and performance of the songs behind the lyrics should not go forgotten. Mitchell Stark has put together some of the heaviest guitar riffs and while being the only guitarist in the band, the performances of these songs is a true test that he excels at beyond expectation. Thomas Freckleton provides the clean vocals that bring clarity and grit to the songs while also bringing depth to Stark's guitars through bass guitar. And finally, the back line, the heart and soul of any song; Alex Camarena pulls together intricate and creative drumming performance. 

Silent PlanetSilent Planet performing at the 2016 Vans Warped Tour in Virginia Beach VA

The Night God Slept. Everything Was Sound. When The End Began.

The third full-length album from Silent Planet, When The End Began, is a clear 4 out of 5 when it comes to putting a number scale on the line. The album comes out this Friday, November 2nd, and will be available anywhere you could imagine digitally. Steam it, buy it, listen to it. 

The new album can be pre-ordered HERE and for more information on upcoming tour dates and updates on the band, head to www.silentplanettours.com

When The End Began tracklisting:
01 - Thus Spoke
02 - The New Eternity
03 - Northern Fires (Guernica)
04 - Afterdusk
05 - Visible Unseen
06 - Look Outside- Dream
07 - Vanity of Sleep
08 - In Absence
09 - Share the Body
10 - Firstborn (Ya'aburnee)
11 - Lower Empire
12 - Look Inside- Awake
13 - The Anatomy of Time (Babel)
14 - Depths III

Silent Planet is Garrett Russell (vocals), Mitchell Stark (guitars), Thomas Freckleton (bass/vocals), Alex Camarena (drums)