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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAs all of you gothic rockers out there know, it\u2019s currently a very healthy, varied genre. Indeed, labelling music does it few favours; you either dig a band or you don\u2019t. You can\u2019t force it. But if we must define a genre, Then Comes Silence are, no offence, way ahead of their contemporaries. Perhaps in part because Alex Svenson has been writing and performing for a long time, honing the sound and range of the band. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This, their seventh album, is the first on the Metropolis label, who were no doubt impressed by the \u2018Hunger\u2019 album released in 2022. From the opening notes of \u2018Ride Or Die\u2019, their sound is instantly recognisable, whilst across the album the keyboards are more prominent than before, which keeps it interesting and gives the band more scope. Alex refers to their bond, their dedication to each other; \u201cyou read my mind, I\u2019m right behind, together we die\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Like A Hammer\u2019 is even more infectious, it\u2019s on regular rotation chez moi. Apparently, each of their albums has \u201can ABBA moment, a Ramones moment and a Judas Priest moment\u201d, and this is their ABBA one. They certainly have a knack with addictive chord sequences, so there is that similarity. The metronomic drumming of Jonas really drives the song along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Feel The Cold\u2019 wraps layers of sound around your ears, pumping synths and simple, effective melodies. Since Mattias left, Hugo handles all the guitar parts, and as they\u2019ve shown on their recent tours, this works really well live in conjunction with the backing tracks. \u2018Tears And Cries\u2019 is a dark, glam duet with shades of the Glitter Band. \u2018Stay Strange\u2019 melds a punchy riff to an unexpected middle-eight, and \u2018Stiffs\u2019, with its refrain of \u201cif I can\u2019t have your soul, I can take your bones\u201d should alert the local mortician, with an end like a haunted merry-go-round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Blind Eye\u2019 is the kind of tune that longtime fan Wayne Hussey would be proud of; sinister and catchy. As he said, they\u2019ve got the tunes and the looks. And, of course, Alex\u2019s voice. But the ace up their sleeve (sorry) is that they are greater than the sum of their influences. They have created their own personality. \u2018The Masquerade\u2019 proves this by sounding only like Then Comes Silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n