Silent Drive – Fairhaven (Equal Vision Records)

Here are some more post-hardcore treats from Equal Vision Records. This time, I am delving deep into the latest release by Silent Drive. For those who aren’t familiar with this band, Silent Drive is a Worcester, Massachusets, post-hardcore band consisting of Bane, Ink Cartridge Funeral, Dasai, and Drowningman members. It’s been a while since I heard anything about them, and there’s a pretty much good reason why that’s the case. Silent Drive toured extensively throughout the US, UK, Europe, and Japan before releasing a demo called Rock H Design and Love Is Worth It, their exceptional debut full-length album released by Equal Vision. After all these events, Silent Drive stopped their activities, to the point you couldn’t hear any news about the band, but as far as I am informed, they never announced they were breaking up. It took them 18 years to release a brand new album, but better late than never.

Judging by the sound of their latest material, it was worth waiting for nearly two decades. Fairhaven carries twelve exceptional post-hardcore compositions that will immediately knock your socks off. After all, you couldn’t expect anything else from the musicians active on the hardcore scene for 25 years. Even those two introductory singles, Dearly Beloved and Prescription For Death, were more than good indicators of what to expect from this material. I know Zach Jordan showcased some of his vocal abilities while doing background vocals for Bane, but dammit, he unquestionably set the bar high with this one. Even experienced hardcore/post-hardcore vocalists active on the scene for three decades could learn something from this guy. He dominates throughout the album with all those lows, mids, highs, semi-distorted shouts, and clean chants. He applies several singing technics, and all work to the advantage of Fairhaven. Jordan’s performance undoubtedly enhances these compositions on an entirely new level, and honestly, I couldn’t imagine anyone else in his position.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the remainder of the band is less important. Quite the contrary, each band member plays a crucial role in this sonic equation. Silent Drive fully stacked this material with impressive melodies, harmonies, progressive virtuosities, licks, chord progressions, and riffs. Each composition carries mind-boggling parts worth listening to over again. I adore how the band strived towards complexity, but these virtuosities don’t overwhelm the cathartic listening experience. The band capable of nailing that particular atmosphere is a sheer rarity nowadays, but Silent Drive somehow managed to do it right. Nothing would sound so massive without equally complex, warm-sounding basslines. The bass guitar complements all those beforementioned virtuosities with delicate low-end tones. The sound engineer/producer did an outstanding job by putting the bass upfront in the mix, so you’ll hear this instrument with such ease. Nothing would sound so profoundly dynamic without exceptional drumming performance based upon energetic rhythmic sequences, continuous splashing over the cymbals, and hectic drum fills. The entire band provides outstanding performance distilled into cleverly assembled compositions worth listening to repetitiously.

Perhaps Silent Drive dominantly nurtures post-hardcore sound, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other genres involved. You’ll hear other ingredients borrowed from complementary music genres, such as hardcore, metalcore, progressive metal, post-rock, indie, and emo. Fairhaven has something for everyone, and I highly advise you to check out this album. Head to Equal Vision for more information about ordering.