Reviewed by Graeme Crawford

For their first album for new label Dark Balance, My Silent Wake have stripped back their sound. Dropping the acoustic guitars and the folkier elements of their previous releases results in a more straightforward doom record albeit with some progressive parts thrown in. The album begins in classic doom style, with "Death Becomes Us" and "Bleak Endless Winter" being particularly strong tracks. After that a few curveballs are tossed to the listener, with the jaunty intro riff to "Graven Years" and the blues rock opening to "Between Wake And Sleep" showing they are willing to experiment rather than stick to the same formula. Vocals remain the same mix of growls, grunts, cleaner gothic style and the occasional female line added. It is not a happy record, as evidenced by the song titles, but there is still a feeling of hope running through that you don't get with secular musical equivalents. The band is set for some upheaval with the departure of long time members Andi Lee (guitars), Jasen Whyte (drums/vocals) and Steve Allan (drums), but their strong outing here shows that there is more to come from Ian and the others. Definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of the genre.

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