Band:	Illuminate The Silence
Album:	Silverhoney
Style:	Avantgarde metal, Progressive doom metal
Release date:	June 2011

01. My Preacher (Had Black Eyes)
02. The Silverhoney
03. Weary Oblivion
04. Sunday Monster

OK, this Silverhoney EP is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Badmoodman Music (a Solitude Productions sub-label) tags Illuminate The Silence as experimental metal. I'm not entirely sure how "experimental" they are, it's not totally avante-garde, but it's not like any release I've heard in a while.

It starts off innocuously enough with the "meh" track, "My Preacher (Had Black Eyes)". It's basically a post-rock song heavy on the overdrive. Just another post rock band... only this time with some out of place vocals. The singer roars, snarls, and rasps in a fashion to make a lot of death/black metal frontmen green with envy? then mixes it up with a whiny flow reminiscent of Jonathon Davis' (Korn) performance on "Freak On A Leash."

Ummm? okay. I guess.

The title track enters with more "meh" riffing and roars when suddenly about the 1:45 mark the band breaks into a catchy metal groove which lasts 30 seconds before they make another left turn with another catchy riff whose style I cannot describe with cool bass lines rolling underneath? then heavy double bass bursts? the song plays out shifting across differing styles. Seems disjointed at times, but at least keeps you interested.

OK, the musicians seem to be every bit as versatile as their vocalist?

"Weary Oblivion" is easily the best track on the album - starting with a doomish vibe and more of the Korny-klean vocals which have now taken on a Peter "Prince of Goth" Murphy (Bauhaus) vibe which really fits the mood. Roars ensue, and the music, as with a lot of good post-rock tunes, builds in intensity as the track unfolds. This is probably the best starting point to check them out, although many of you will likely skip to the closer after you read the following sentence?

The EP comes to a (low) end when "Sunday Monster" kicks off with a booty-shakin' "You mind if we dance wich yo' dates?" funkadelic bassline that will appeal to the party people in the house. I was momentarily confused, wondering if I had incorrectly tagged an Infectious Grooves song (See: versatile musicians) before the vox reminded me I was in the right place. Really odd song?

All in all, I don't think Illuminate The Silence are as "experimental" as they are versatile?sometimes the various influences and styles bring cool flourishes to songs, whereas at other times they seem to be at odds with one another. And on "Weary Oblivion", to paraphrase Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, "I love it when a song comes together."