Silent Lapse

Silent Lapse – Birthright
July 26, 2009 by Koggie

2009 Silent Lapse



In the days when progressive rock has taken a turn for more commercially acceptable endeavors (The Mars Volta, Muse, Tool and even Porcupine Tree), bands are coming out of the woodwork to help reinvent the genre into directions beyond the classic 70's era, the second wave of the 80's neo-prog movement, and even expanding upon what they can do with heavier guitars within the progressive metal genre beyond extremities. Take Michigan’s Silent Lapse, a band that melds the heavy groove alongside a dark atmospheric mood, they too play by their own rules not setting out to be the next Spock’s Beard or Dream Theater carbon copy, playing the tuneage on their own terms, being a melodic & technical entity unto their own.

Melding the heavyset vibe of Evergrey’s In Search Of Truth as well as Parallels & Inside Out-era Fates Warning, along side the melodic sensibility of Katatonia, set with the brooding haunts of late-period Anathema, Birthright is a record of diverse songs instead of a series of complex musical gestures, in the fact that they are highly accessible on the ears and that the tunes differ from one from to the other. Tracks such as “A New Melody,” “The Wake” “Solitude,” and the title track build from hallowed emotion into textured metal while the metalized “Seed of Hope” & “Reach” and the more laid back “Beyond the Gardens” keep everything to the point.

The music is driven by the brooding axework that features grinding rhythms and dueling leads; there are no wild improvisational tangents, for the focus is based on the hard-edged melodies gripped by the raging technical elements that compliment the musical approach. Birthright is certainly nothing moderate to the world of thinking man’s metal, nor is it overblown with massive symphonic arrangements and layers of dinosaur rock mentality solos; it’s the common ground of strong songs, aggressive rhythms, edgy grooves, and tight musicianship – what else could you want? - Ytsejam.com

Seeing a band describe themselves as “Progressive Metal” makes me curious yet apprehensive. I love bands that try to think outside the box, wave the middle finger at musical confinements and expand the limits of musical genres, which, by definition is progressing. Unfortunately, though, a lot of bands think that being “progressive” means that the songs require a lot of odd-timed syncopated riffs, lots of shredding solos and extremely long instrumental sections that are just put in the song so the musicians can show off. Essentially, these bands sound like the... children of DREAM THEATER and SYMPHONY X, completely missing the point and turning every song into a show of skill.

There is another style, if you will, of Progressive Metal popping up lately, where the instrumental wankery is kept to a minimal, and where the band opts to show their skill in more subtle ways, with only brief moments of “wow that’s an insane solo!”, and the focus being more on the song as a whole.

SILENT LAPSE was a five piece (four piece now, as their singer left) out of Michigan that fits into the latter category of Progressive Metal, with the band playing very accessible songs with a Proggy twist to them. The guitar work is solid and can hold its own, finding the right balance between melody and heavy (think mid-paced EVERGREY. Kinda), but what’s impressive is how the riffs are both extremely catchy, yet it never sounds anything remotely close to being mindless and dumbed down. Despite the general simplicity of what is happening in the song, the songs themselves are very well constructed when it comes to the tension of the melodies, and the songs are unpredictable in small ways. Flashy displays are present on this record in small spurts, and their appearance is always welcome because they FIT THE SONG, instead of being random musical tangents that the musicians are far too eager to play.

The overall mood of the album is pretty morose, partly due to the brooding nature of the melodies that are being played, and the guitar tone is pretty gloomy, but what is the highlight of this record is the vocalist’s performance. It’s very mournful, but still shows a glimmer of hope, which gives the singing some soul. It’s unfortunate that the man left the band, because he is an incredible talent.

I’m loving this. The groove of the songs is aggressive, the songs in and of themselves are very catchy, the melodies and riffs are very well composed, the songs structures are unpredictable (in a good way), and the singing is great.

I hate to use a clichéd term, but this is thinking man’s Metal.

Check this out. It is quite awesome.

(Online August 28, 2009) - The Metal Observer

By John "Koggie" Kotzian

Biography
Silent Lapse was formed in May of 2007 by brothers Mitchell and Taylor Feldpausch. The two recruited Matt Schrauben, Scott Martin, and Wyatt Aldrich to form a band whose main focus would be creating original music while pushing the members? creative and technical abilities.

Comments and Observations
I've been running Ytsejam.com for 8 years this month. I've had so much new music cross my desk in that time that rarely does a band really impress me anymore but on those rare occasions I'll run into one that rekindles my love for this thing we call "progressive" music. As the fates would have it I ran into Silent Lapse at a show in Detroit and was impressed with what I had heard. I've seen many young acts with decent music but it was obvious from their live performance that these guys not only had that "it" factor but they put the time and effort into it as well. Something that is becoming very rare in these days. When I heard the studio recordings it was very clear to me that this music needed to be heard.

I would put Silent Lapse into the progressive metal category but I have a hard time comparing their music to other bands in that genre. There are obvious influences like In Flames, Metallica, Iron Maiden but the music is fresh and original and draws from the energy of the younger bands in the scene and on the radio. It's more than worth a single listen.

-Koggie

The Big Questions
As a part of this column, the bands featured are asked the same five questions. It's up to them to sell themselves and their music to would-be fans and record labels.

1. How would you describe your music?

Our music is extremely melody driven and sets out to create emotion within a listener. We pay a lot of attention to making sure every part has a main point of interest (often times an identifiable melody) that moves the song forward in an aurally pleasing way. Also, we try to change parts to keep interest because we get bored playing the same things. This makes it very progressive in nature.

2. Why did you choose to play Progressive Rock, when Pop-Rock is so much more accessible?

One reason is that we get bored playing the same parts over and over in a standard song structure. Another reason is that almost all of our influences are progressive bands. They seem to establish a stronger fan connection and keep long-term fans that are extremely devoted to the band and its music. The #1 reason though, is that it's the style that we love and what we naturally play when we sit down and write.

3. If someone were looking for new Progressive Rock Music, what would they find in your music that sets it apart?

Melody driven pieces that are progressive but establish a hook. All of our music is highly accessible to the average listener even though it is progressive in nature. In every piece we write, we look to put in an identifiable part so it catches the listener's ear. Something that the listener may find themselves humming a few days later. It's not meant to be passive music.

4. Imagine I'm a major label representative. Explain why you think I should sign your band.

For a reason besides the music, we have a very strong work ethic that pushes us to do more than what we need to. We are never satisfied with where we're at as a band and are always looking to push the boundaries of what we can do in all aspects of it, whether it be musically, live-show, fan-related, or business-related. As far as music goes, the melody-driven aspect is the main selling point. As we said earlier, we believe our music is very accessible to a wide audience without much of a "learning curve" so-to-speak. You don't need to listen to it over and over to take a liking to it.... or at least that's what we hope.

5. Where do you see Silent Lapse in five years.

Our dream is to be signed with a major label that is good with promotions and to have toured with the bands that have inspired us along the way. We hope that this is the case in five years. We will try to do everything we can to get there and to be a positive face within the scene. It's all about the fans. Without them none of this would ever have a chance of happening. We're very fortunate to have developed a faithful fan-base that we're hoping grows as we grow. - Ytsejam.com

Formed in May of 2007 in Michigan, Silent Lapse has done a lot of of work in a very short time. The release of this self-titled EP in early 2008 just showcases the raw talent of this band. From the epic "Seed of Hope" to the melodic-yet-heavy "A New Melody" Silent Lapse proves their ability to write a well balanced and musically interesting song.

Obvious influences include Dream Theater, In Flames, and Pain of Salvation but the band does very well at keeping them just influences and not copying their styles.

"A New Melody" - By far my favorite song on the disc, this is a mid tempo, ambient progressive metal (does that even makes sense?) that delivers with wonderful vocal melody over heavy crunch and clean arpeggio guitars. The high point comes around the 2:30 mark where the vocals blaze into an almost Gregorian chant style that signals the start of the bridge. It just has a great feel to it.

"Reach" starts out with a mid-tempo two-guitar harmony that leads into to a soft vocal melody. Leading into the chorus is another two-guitar harmony that I just can't help thinking was influenced by Metallica's "Orion". Once it breaks into the chorus though the song dynamics pick up and the song start to get real interesting. Being the Prog fans that I am I love the bridge section at 2:38 with it's half-time/odd-time rhythm and melody guitar soloing.

The 10-minute "Seed of Hope" starts out strong with a wall-of-sound intro the breaks into a fast guitar into riff. Rife with dynamic and time changes this is a song any progressive metal fan should love. The drums really shine in this song keeping everything sewn together tightly.

I had an chance to see these kids (yeah, they're youngin's compared to me) play the I-Rock Nightclub in Detroit a few weeks ago and I was immediately impressed with their on-stage performance. The live versions of the songs were tight and the dynamics were well represented.

Overall I'd say if this band keeps working hard, good things will come for them.

Score: 5 out of 5 stars - Ytsejam.com