Single Review
Silence
by
Wailing Banshee
Wailing Banshee storm back into action with the follow-up to the excellent Lord of the Flies, further cementing their position of flagbearers for wonderfully in-your-face traditional Heavy Metal like you just didn’t think they made anymore.
Screaming Riffs first came across Wailing Banshee at last year’s SOS Festival where they opened the proceedings on the Sunday with an emphatic and blazing performance when they grabbed the crowd by the scruff of the neck, proclaiming in no uncertain terms that they are an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with. Since then, they have refined their sound ever more through their incendiary live shows, gaining in confidence, stature and song-writing chops along the way, and Silence is another milestone on the road to bigger and better things.
A mid-tempo juggernaut of a number, Silence shows off Wailing Banshee’s signature sound with Dani Louise’s laser-focussed vocals gliding over the fantastic twin-guitar attack from Harry Darbyshire and Al McKenzie. Evocative and beautifully melodic solos counterpoint riffs big enough to sink a battleship, whilst Richie Parkhouse’s slinky and inventive bass lines anchor this leviathan in place, but are also a thing of beauty in their own right. Sean Murphy on drums meanwhile provides the thunder, keeping everything on the darkest track, using his kit to provide emphasis and colour, punctuating the musical passages with precision and flair.
Silence is a dramatic and atmospheric tune that, as with all the best metal, lifts you out of the everyday, the humdrum and the ordinary and catapults you somewhere else, true metal escapism at its finest. Fascinating lyrics laden with occult imagery further paint a sonic tapestry in which to lose yourself, Dani Louise’s fantastic vocal prowess meaning every dark delicious phrase is clear and delivered for maximum effect; it’s a dynamic moody exercise in light and shade, drama and storytelling, that ensures not a second is wasted and that interest never wanes for a single second of its 3:28 run time. Delightfully mixed, all the instruments and vocals are crystal clear filling up the sound-width beautifully whilst still claiming their own rightful place within the structure of the song.
Gloriously, defiantly and unapologetically old-school Metal, with this song (and really any others from their back catalogue to be honest), Wailing Banshee remind those of us old enough to remember the 80s just why we fell in love with Heavy Metal all those years ago and why it remains such a joyful, life-affirming proposition even now. And for those who are too young to have caught it first time round, Wailing Banshee capture the excitement, energy and sheer majesty of full-throttle Metal in the grandest tradition, right here, right now in the 21st century. Keep watching, listening and going to their gigs, for these guys are on an upward trajectory and if they keep going in this vein, it's surely only a a matter of time before they soar….
They do say that Silence is golden and in the hands of Wailing Banshee that sure as hell is the case...!
