Violent Silence: Twilight Furies

It may have taken them some time to get there but Twilight Furies is the fourth album in 17 years from Swedish progressive rockers Violent Silence. The band’s previous album, A Broken Truce, appeared some seven years ago and made something of a splash when it did, the keyboard work from Johan Hedman and his other band members truly being something to wonder at. For this latest foray, the aforementioned Hedman is the only person to return, the band now fleshed out by the second keyboard force of Hannes Ljunghall, bassist Simon M. Svensson and singer Erik Forsberg, with Hedman also being credited with percussion.

So, you could be forgiven for thinking that the mainman is the star and in truth, you’d be correct, all eight of the compositions - although two are mere song introductions that run to less than a minute between them - built around sumptuous keyboard creations which offer up a variety of emotions and ideas. That said, most of the atmosphere on Twilight Furies is bright and upbeat, even if, as you’ll tell from their titles, “Scorched Earth Path� and “Perilous Borders� are hardly happy-clappy in theme. The textures utilised to bring these ideals to life really are rather engaging, with a melodic eye brought to xylophone touches, which are employed in part during both “Tectonic Plates� and “Scorched Earth Path� to introduce a forceful percussive core to some serious instrumentation. In the wrong hands the results could all be a little too luminescent and glaring, which is possibly why singer Erik Forsberg (Blazon Stone, Wildness) fronts the vocal passages. To say he brings an unexpected harshness to proceedings would be an understatement, with his straight ahead, more metallic tones initially feeling at odds with everything else that’s going on. Cleverly, however, the vocal melodies really do pay off through an intricate push and pull played out against the music, and while I’m still not sure that Forsberg would be my own personal first choice behind the mic for this outfit, I can see why he does what he does.

That all said, Twilight Furies wins through on its musical merits, where long instrumental passages delight at every turn. From the hypnotic clockwork like feel of “Lunar Sunrise� to the progressive rock presented with a decidedly prog metal like attitude of the album’s title track, it’s pretty difficult not to be taken by the engaging interplay cooked up between Hedman, Ljunghall and Svensson. Forsberg too turns in a seriously impressive performance, although on an album where the music itself really dominates, whether everyone will view him as the perfect choice will play a huge part in their overall enjoyment of what’s on offer.

Track Listing
1. Fair Warning
2. Tectonic Plates
3. Scorched Earth Path
4. Dance of the Shuriken
5. Lunar Sunrise
6. Beyond the Pass
7. Twilight Furies
8. Perilous Borders

Added: March 13th 2021
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
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Language: english

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