During recent weeks I have tried to expand upon my existing knowledge of the depressive black metal scene by listening to bands outside of the biggest markets. Cry of Silence, for instance, are from Greece, a nation I wouldn’t associate with the depressive scene. In the early 1990’s, Scandinavia’s black metal movement probably had the biggest impact upon the entire genre but elsewhere, in unfamiliar territories, there were scenes spreading their elegant wings amongst the elite. Greece was a nation that had its own separate movement which consisted of a exotic Mediterranean sound that would grow to appeal to a number of fans, even to this day. Though most of the recognition goes to Scandinavia, there were outside influences and the early 1990’s Hellenic movement was amongst those. Perhaps rather underrated, even by myself, the Hellenic movement would serve itself up as a real treat to fans of black metal once the internet made it easier for the market to expand and become more accessible. I am no expert when it comes to the Hellenic movement.
As I said, it is an underrated feature of the early black metal scene and it has completely passed me by. In fact, it was a movement I disregarded as obsolete in my early days. Young, impressionable fans tend to stick by the most popular movements in music and I was no different. I leaned heavily towards Scandinavia and neglected all outside factors of the genre. Though the Hellenic scene and my prejudice towards other European, as well as non-European scenes, are but a distant memory, Greece still has a strong association with the black metal movement. In fact, I discovered both Cry of Silence and Sarvari, an associated band with which Granath participates in, around the same time. This was a time that I had taken it upon myself to explore the Greek scene with an eye on specified fields. Although I never quite managed to develop any sort of affection towards the exotic nation of Greece, I did, and still do enjoy what both aforementioned bands have had to offer to a gentile fan such as myself. Cry of Silence were much easier to appreciate than Sarvari, Granath’s older and more mature offspring.
Having pretty much propelled myself into the depressive scene from an early point, I immediately took to this bands monotonous, repetitive style as it linked well with my ideal sense of depressive black metal which creates a dissonant, hypnotic atmosphere akin to bands like America’s Velvet Cacoon. Though, of course, Cry of Silence differ from the infamous Velvet Cacoon, they share some similarities which makes me look more favourably upon this band than Granath’s other child, Sarvari. I’ve always pictured the Greek scene as a rather raw, charismatically structured scene - much like that of my opinion of the French scene - but bands like this prove that vision wrong. One could argue that the depressive scene is raw, but it doesn’t have that same visceral edge that is brought to the table by the sub-genre, raw black metal. The vocals are the most raw element of bands like this as the instrumentation flitters between ambiance and atmosphere. The vocal portrayal here is typical of the scene - high pitched screams, though not as eyebrow raising as that of bands like Silencer. These screams are more controlled and tend to blend into the background, unlike Nattramn’s high pitched screams which have inspired a generation of depressive bands.
The similarities are there, but these screams aren’t as in the foreground as one might expect. In fact, the way in which the vocals blend into the tremolo riffs is rather unsettling. I expected more of a presence from the vocalist, though since I’m a bigger fan of instrumentation than I am of vocals, I will let the sheltered vocals slide as a major negative. As the debut progresses, the vocals seem less and less important. As with a number of depressive bands, Granath has taken it upon himself to make the sole representative of this band the guitars and, rather predictably, most of the records atmosphere is generated by the repetitive style that comes from the mostly mid-paced tremolo structures. On occasions, generally towards the end of songs, Granath, who provides all the instrumentation, relaxes the style by offering cleaner guitars. Though this is a sparse aspect of the record, it is noteworthy since the record is highly monotonous in it’s approach. As far as being memorable, the background bass, incapable leadership skills of the vocals and repetitious style make this record as far from interesting as possible and none of the riffs really stick in my mind until ‘Walking Through Eternal Tragedy’ comes about (unsurprisingly perhaps, the title track), but that is mostly due to the catchiness of the drums, though they themselves are still highly repetitious.
Despite being unmemorable in almost all areas of the instrumentation, this debut is still likable and far from being the worst depressive record you will ever come across. There isn’t much to say about this record as it rarely deviates from the repetitive guitar led style. The atmospherics are hampered by a weakened production, also. It’s a bit thin and tears like paper whenever there is a strain upon the monotonous structures. Although this isn’t an innovative masterpiece, it still is likable. There isn’t much involvement from the bass, nor generally impacting areas like the drums. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Granath used a drum machine. The double bass is hollow and uninspiring, the snare, cymbals and most other percussionist elements are all deemed fairly redundant as they rarely come across strongly given the paper like production. The thinness of the creativity, the production and material in general do all hinder the atmospheric progress but still, somehow, Granath and co. still manage to sound likable! I imagine that over time, this record would become less and less engaging. The hypnotic and entrancing aspects are not going to impress everyone and since that is primarily what this record has to rely on, it could very well be doomed from the get-go.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=3oSkaomEA_o
