I remember when I reviewed the previous album, Roadside Heretics, and said that The Awakening will never become a gothic metal band. Listening to Darker Than Silence proves I need to add some nuances. Since the release of the debut album Risen in 1997, electronic and distorted guitar sounds have increased in importance. The majority of the songs on Darker Than Silence has heavy guitars. Songs like One More Crucifixion, The Needle And The Gun, Armageddon Style and Animal are heavy, dark tracks. Yet I don't want to call the band gothic metal as they still have other sides as is evident in tracks like the atmospheric rock song Self and Page 13. A few tracks are less interesting, but overall I can say Darker Than Silence is a great album that becomes better after listening to it a couple of times. One advice: Play it loud!
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #109Reviewed by Doug Van PeltWhile it's great to have many bands that don't take themselves too seriously, we also desperately need those that do take themselves and their craft very seriously. Anything dark and heavy like this kind of demands artistic attention. Not getting the sound or performance just right can really mess things up. Ashton Nyte and his South African band, The Awakening probably know how to have a good…Similar sounding releases
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