A Canorous Quintet - Silence of the World Beyond

A CANOROUS QUINTET - Silence of the World Beyond (NO FASHION Records - CD 1996)

If I look back in time to the late 90’s, I remember that then A Canorous Quintet music didn’t make huge impression on me. I felt bored by this sort of melodic black / death metal and amount of such bands in Sweden. But nowadays my opinion is rather different. Why? Well, things just like to change, so do musical tastes. “Silence of the World Beyond” matured quite well, there aren’t many bands, which would play such music nowadays, so from time perspective I can now say that I like this album quite a lot and it is just as good as best efforts of bands like Vinterland, Sacramentum or Dawn.  

When I listen to “Silence of the World Beyond” right after “As Tears”, which was Quintet’s debut MCD, I notice enormous progress they’ve made. “As Tears” was much more doomy, but generally it was just a typical Dissecion follower. With “Silence...” A Canorous Quintet managed to create a bit of their own style within the characteristic Swedish melo-sound. First of all, it’s far more aggressive and uncompromising than most of the bands from this category. These Swedes really took it to the line between death and black metal, almost like Vinterland did, but what differs A Canorous Quintet is their strong heavy metal influence, from Maiden to Judas... And it’s noticeable in many melodies or leads. Besides that, every song here is damn fast or mid paced at least, so it gives an album a hellish dose of energy. The band got rid of the doom metal elements from the MCD, which I think worked for better - even though "As Tears" is also a pretty solid effort... But with that change and sort of progression their music feels like wild beast unleashed. To put it simply, this CD kicks ass from the start to the end. 

Of course A Canorous Quintet delivers many atmospheric parts as well, every song is melodic and catchy, but these guys did find a proper balance between the energy / aggression and atmosphere - without making their music over-melancholic or too mellow. Some of these melodies are just wonderful, delivering so many emotions you cannot walk away from it. There’s even that two minutes long instrumental song called “The Last Journey”, which starts with keyboards and has some wonderful guitar melodies / solos that standout immediately. And such songs like “Spellbound” are excellent. The production of the album is also great and the vocals are just amazing – Marten screams his guts out like a maniac, even more that Tampa of At the Gates. 

Ufff.... Nothing more to say, other than it's a damn great album, definitely a biggest achievement of A Canorous Quintet. Great job and highly recommended stuff!  

Standout tracks: “Spellbound”, “Dream Reality”, “The Orchid’s Sleep”. 

Verdict: 85/100