“I wanna tell you about the dreams that I have dreamt…”. This is how “Harvester Of Souls” begins and probably this is how the founder, composer, guitarist and only stable member of the band Nikos Siglidis would begin the story about the situation in which his “child” is now. Since 2006, when they started, a lot has happened, but they are finally in the best phase of their journey. With a new amazing album, a record deal with the Italian Scarlet Records and the strongest line-up they’ve ever had, dreams seem to be coming true.
The road took us to the Underground Studios in Peristeri, where the listening session of their second full-length “Nuances Of Life” took place, which will be released on CD and vinyl in the upcoming months. It will contain thirteen songs, with two of them being bonus tracks. One of them is “Harvester Of Souls” re-recorded, which originally appeared on the demo of the same name in 2011. In fact, the mastering was finished in October 2022, when the band started looking for a record deal. From the offers they got, they singled out Scarlet with whom they agreed to collaborate for a total of two releases.
There are also three notable guests on the album. Stu Block (Into Eternity, Annihilator, ex-Iced Earth) lends his voice to “Another Fallen Dreamland”, Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin (Cloven Hoof, Jag Panzer, Satan’s Host, The Three Tremors, Titan Force) does the same in “Scarlet Dawn” while Bob Katsionis (Outloud, Stray Gods, ex-Firewind etc.) plays keyboards in “Black Monday” and has directed the first video clip, that is the opener “The Serpent Lord”. It was produced and mixed by Fotis Benardo at Devasoundz Studios, mastered by George Nerantzis and the amazing cover was created by Giannis Nakos of Remedy Art Design.
On to the music now. The Silent Rage may still be classified as power metal, but I believe that for a better understanding they are leaning a lot towards heavy. “Nuances Of Life” is mostly an up-tempo album, with razor-sharp riffs, catchy refrains and terrific performances from Michael Rinakakis who is amazing with the transitions from deep to high-pitched vocals, depending on what each composition needs. His accent makes you distinguish the lyrics and the songs stick easily in your head. A lot of work has been put into “Nuances Of Life” and it’s evident, as the progress from 2016’s debut “The Deadliest Scourge” is huge. Both in aspects of composition and technical skills as well as in the very powerful production. Each track has something different to offer, with lots of interesting guitar parts. In general, I would describe it as a heavy/power metal album in which some thrash influences find their way.
As for what I singled out, it’s a bit difficult because the record doesn’t have weak moments and indifferent points. But the things that immediately made the biggest impression on me are the raging “The Serpent Lord” with a refrain that makes you want to light a flare (which the band already plays in their most recent shows), the wonderful “The Man In The Mirror” which will easily become a concert favorite, “Carve Your Rage” with its excellent guitar work and the shocking “Black Monday”. A very atmospheric and emotional song, written as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the deadly fire in Mati in 2018. However, during the conversations with the other editors, most mentioned different songs that moved them the most. Which shows the quality of the particular work.
In conclusion, fans of the heavy/power sound should make a note to check out “Nuances Of Life” when it’s released. Even if you didn’t like “The Deadliest Scourge” that much (as I did), the evolution here is exceptional. A band that has leveled up, a band that is fighting hard to make their dreams come true. Thanks for the invitation guys and Godspeed on your new work.
