Fifteen years after their inception, Silverstein are still going strong and their latest release, ‘I Am Alive In Everything I Touch’ proves just why they’re one of the biggest names in the post-hardcore scene.
Split into four ‘chapters’, this concept album is the first to be release via Rise Records, after deals with Victory and Hopeless Records. Each chapter of the album is split into ‘Borealis’ (North), ‘Austeralis’ (South), ‘Zephyrus’ (West), and ‘Eurus’ (East). The setting for each track is a different city that geographically falls into that region; real life recordings of each city are incorporated into the tracks.
Vocalist Shane Told said about ‘I Am Alive In Everything I Touch’: “All the city clips we recorded, the transitions, and making sure the concept really worked and told this story of loneliness despite being surrounded by so much excitement…there’s something more real about this one.”
Gritty riffs open up ‘A Midwestern State of Emergency’ – frenetic and raw, they give way to show off frontman Shane Told’s impressive vocals, moving swiftly from his visceral screams to his mighty cleans. Their choruses are massive, as demonstrated during ‘Desert Nights’; they beef up their tracks, fleshing them out to become huge anthems that will go down a storm with new and old fans alike.
‘Late On 6th’ is an honest and emotive track, ending with cries of “Don’t go.” And again, Silverstein show that their lyrics, whilst poignant and suffocating at times, greatly reflect how much of their fan-base, and the world, actually feel, with lines such as, “You said living here’s a death sentence/in my head/I wish you only knew.”
They thunder through, creating choppy tracks such as ‘Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory’ and ‘The Continual Condition’; catchy hooks and enticing melodies are crushed together, giving life to the fast and furious ‘Je Me Souviens’. The drum work is huge, crashing down upon massive riffs that give way to vocals that simply soar during ‘Face Of the Earth’.
Silverstein have shown that, even after fifteen years together as a band, they know how to write killer songs that will resonate within the post-hardcore community. Their songs are honest, true, and real, reflecting their trials and tribulations as a band; ‘I Am Alive In Everything I Touch’ is testament to that.
JESS TAGLIANI