Silhouettes by Textures
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Release date : May 2008
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
Background information
Review
Background information
On December 4th, 2007, Dutch Progressive Metal act Textures entered Split Second Sound to begin recording a third full length with guitarist Jochem Jacobs helming production. By late January, the album had been mixed and mastered. Drums, meanwhile, were cut at Excess studios. Filmed by bassist Remko Tielemans, four video episodes providing studio updates were posted exclusively upon the group's official MySpace page. The first arrived in mid December, with subsequent installments arriving every two weeks thereafter. In early February 2008, the album's title was revealed to be Silhouettes, and its track listing was additionally disclosed. Accredited to vocalist Eric Kalsbeek and Tielemans, the record's artwork was unveiled during early March. Through VS-Webzine.com, “Old Days Born Anew” was made available for downloading midway into the month. “Storm Warning” was made available for streaming via Textures' MySpace page in early April, with the whole album being made available for streaming at the same location several days later. Originally scheduled for issue during mid to late April via Listenable Records, Silhouettes's actual street date was pushed back a fortnight. Due to the alleged “complexity” of the gold print upon the digipack, a manufacturing delay occurred.
On March 23rd, Textures performed at Schjindel, Holland's Passpop Festival. From April 12th to the 15th, the group performed at various English venues. From the 19th to the 21st, the outfit performed in the Netherlands, France and Belgium respectively, supporting Arch Enemy. Subsequent dates included two in the Netherlands, and two Swiss concerts during early May.
Review
Textures exhibit distinct sonics which fuse modern musical accessibility against technical proficiency, and brutality. Silhouettes continues the outfit's progression, and further polarizes listeners' opinions. It isn't difficult to unearth merit in the material Textures pen, but that material doesn't always provide a comfortable listen. Technical Metal fanatics seeking slighty extra edge than Dream Theater, or latter day Opeth, should possibly purchase Silhouettes. If you torched an assemblage of Berklee College of Music students, continually doused the flames, and repeatedly set the musicians alight, then this full length would sonically resemble such happenings. What listeners actually think doesn't even slightly alarm Textures, which supplies another point of interest. A number of radio friendly aspects peacefully co-exist alongside Hardcore style breakdowns, and near Extreme Metal fury.
Of Silhouettes' cuts, “Awake” is the first to extremely seize the listener's focus. An electronic section inaugurates the track, bursting forth into an extremely poppy sound - from the very rooftops, this sound screams “anthem”. Much of the track recalls early millennial American acts like Chevelle, Trapt, and Seether. A heavy breakdown however, as well as some haunting keyboard work midway into the track, strive to mostly dismiss such comparisons. Smart move. “One Eye For a Thousand” provides an additional highlight, utilizing an extremely heavy groove which wholly consumes your focus. Subsequently, the track morphs into a hybrid of mid-career Opeth, and roughly any modern Stoner Rock act you might wish to name. “To Erase a Lifetime” is another track which greatly recalls the aforementioned early millennial American groups. Seemingly, the number ventures in circles, as though chasing its tail. Nonetheless, “To Erase a Lifetime” never loses focus or direction.
Textures fuse these styles against one another extremely well. Taking the stylings they opt towards into account, Textures are an extremely coherent act. You could play such stylings exactly right, but the fact of the mattter is that these stylings collectively form a square peg jammed into a round hole. Silhouettes wields great moments, but these moments only surface when Textures focuses upon a track's major aspect, or focuses upon a lone style. Musically impressive, Silhouettes might even appeal to less Progressive fanatics as the result of more singular sounding material. Mostly though, Silhouettes isn't an album which'll encourage you to repeatedly listen to its tracks. What Textures is attempting to achieve simply fails; albeit an intriguing listen, these stylings have no stamina.
