After twenty-two years of being one of the most renowned and influential bands in post-hardcore and emo, it would be respectable to take a hiatus and bask in the legacy for a good while. However, Silverstein continues to knock out new material consistently, never wringing dry of inspiration and reinforcing their veteran status. With new album Misery Made Me (UNFD), the hardcore maestros let their creativity flow freely without forcing anything to appease anyone’s expectations – including their own.
Lead single ‘Ultraviolet’ digs deep into the control of brain chemicals, comparing their power and invisibility to that of ultraviolet light and the harm it can cause without ever being seen. Vocalist Shane Told contemplates the feeling of something unseen taking over his mind, “Is it chemical? Supernatural? As it all unfolds, I’m learning I have no control.”
‘The Altar / Mary’ meshes two entirely different songs into one, starting with two minutes of rip-roaring hardcore and the repeated phrase “Somebody has to die.” Just when your neck might be getting sore from the head-banging madness, screeching feedback fades into slow synth chords while Told takes a break from the screams to sing into a vocoder – pretty much the last direction you’d expect the song to take for its last minute and a half.
To keep the listening experience fresh yet uniform, the record features several guest artists of varying styles spread evenly throughout the tracklist. The heavier song ‘Die Alone’ includes Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld, while the more tamed ‘Cold Blood’ features singer-songwriter Trevor Daniel. Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada unleashes some seething screams for ‘Slow Motion’, and nothing, nowhere. fits effortlessly into the moving penultimate track ‘Live Like This’.
Acoustic ballad ‘Misery’ closes the album on a soft note, but not without inducing some tearjerking first. Told sings of finding peace in misery as gentle strings sway underneath, recalling the anguished feelings from the preceding songs in a docile tone.
Over two decades of making music together aren’t enough to even begin wearing out Silverstein – Misery Made Me is packed with clever hooks, ambitious melodies, and thought-provoking lyrics. As they continue to lure in newcomers while keeping elder emos engaged, the Canadian rockers remind the scene just how they earned their place at the beginning of the century.
Buy the album here: https://amzn.to/3MMQrQY
8 / 10
COLLEEN KANOWSKY
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