Sylvan - Posthumous Silence

Home Artist links Label link

Sylvan - Posthumous Silence

Artist:	Sylvan
Title:	Posthumous Silence
Label:	Progrock Records
Length(s):	70 minutes
Year(s) of release:	2006
Month of review:	[07/2008]

Line up

Marco Gluehmann - vocals
Matthias Harder - drums
Sebastian Harnack - bass
Kay Soehl - guitars
Volker Soel - keys
with
Ensemble Vokalkolorit - choir
Guido Bungenstock - guitar
Stefanie Richter - cello

Tracks

1)	Eternity Ends	2.03
2)	(I) Bequest Of Tears	3.19
3)	In Chains	8.38
4)	(II) Bitter Symphony	1.20
5)	Pane Of Truth	9.06
6)	(III) No Earthly Reason	1.57
7)	Forgotten Virtue	6.43
8)	The Colors Changed	5.58
9)	(IV) A Sad Sympathy	1.42
10)	Questions	6.59
11)	Answer To Life	5.56
12)	(V) Message From The Past	3.00
13)	The Last Embrace	3.27
14)	A Kind Of Eden	4.55
15)	Posthumous Silence	4.59

Summary

The music

Sylvan is one of the more productive progressive outfits from Germany, and seen by many as a proponent of the neo prog movement (whatever that may be). Where their previous albums were pretty song oriented in approach, the band opted for making a concept album this time along. The album tells the story of a father reading his now dead daughter's diary. At some points the story is told from the daughter's perspective, at other's from the reading father's.

The dark feel of the storyline is reflected in the music. The guitars can get intense. The vocals move from tranquil, almost sedate, to overwrought and in pain. Even though many percussive sections are quite heavy, they remain in support of the atmosphere, never overstepping the boundaries laid down by the concept and compositions. Things never get too heavy, since Sylvan remain a band with an accessible approach to music. Sure, this album is definitely more intense than what they've done before, but the sombreness or strength is never overwhelming.

Gluehmann's voice naturely has a pretty light sound, which makes the more forceful and low sections difficult to sing for him. Even though he does perform pretty well, the lightness of his voice is audible. This does, however, helps in keeping the music open in sound. And it's not just this, there's more that keeps the overall sound of the music lighter than its subject matter. Never is it as dark as for instance Pain of Salvation (which is also a lot harder) or T's Naive (which is a lot moodier). One might perceive this as an inconsistency, but I'd rather see it as a trait: it's not good or bad, it just is.

Conclusion

No matter how you spin it, Sylvan will remain a band that take an accessible approach to progressive rock. The listener should never fear dwiddling, doodling or meandering. The symbiosis of instruments, vocals and compositions make Sylvan reach for the pinnacle of this genre. The build up of tension, the expression in the vocals, the sincerity emanating from the performance makes it clear that the band's previous albums were practice sessions almost to come to this result. One of the better albums of the year in my book.