All creativity is a dialogue. Every song, painting, innovation, poem - is just the latest statement in a conversation that is as old as human civilization. And Silent Planet is intends to add to this dialogue. Weaving together topics that range from historical injustice to the existential despair of modern life, Silent Planet has a message that burns with a hardcore indignation, while coupled with progressive instrumentation. In the band’s latest effort, When the End Began, frontman and lyricist, Garrett Russell, explores the obscure and mystical Nietzschean concept of “Eternal Return” as it relates to the human experience. Haunted by recurring dreams of war, famine, and dead planets - further exacerbated by health complications and surgery, Russell was drawn to explore the concept of apocalypse in this latest batch of stories. When the End Began delves into instances of global and personal crisis - watershed moments between and within humanity - and aims to draw connection between the two. According to Russell “Apocalypse signals an ending, sure, but also the birth of a new epoch. The challenge of hope calls us to find direction in the midst of chaos - to find purpose not away from pain, but within it.” Since the their inception in 2009, Silent Planet has never looked for handouts. Initially the band slowly gained traction playing local venues throughout California, subsequently expanding to DIY touring throughout the States. The band first gained prominence due to their vast array of intellectual influences, anchored by Russell’s masters degree in psychology and field experience as a mental health therapist. However, it is their remarkably intimate connection with their listeners (who they often refer to as “Lovers”, eschewing the term “fans”) that has become their trademark in the music scene. Perhaps no single event better speaks to their grassroots base than their surprise, underdog victory of “Underground Band of the Year” at the 2017 APMA awards. Emphasizing integrity, the band has gone to extreme measures to ensure creative control to keep their DIY ethos intact. With this third full-length release, the band looks to establish themselves not as a mainstay in the genre, but as sonic trend-setters. Primary song architect and guitarist, Mitchell Stark, pushes the band into increasingly aggressive territory in this new release, accented by the distinguishably refined and progressive drumming of Alexrene Camarena. Further, the album showcases a wide vocal array, thanks to the dynamic singing range of bassist, Thomas Freckleton, who vacillates between anthemic choruses and contemplative verses throughout the record. In a genre fraught with cliche, Silent Planet managed their most deliberate, cohesive effort to date. When The End Began is further complimented by the talents of producer Will Putney, who in his second effort has managed to capture the band’s aggressive live sound mix while retaining their more exploratory ambient elements. Additionally, Silent Planet opens a new chapter on the global front, signing an international license deal with Australia-based label UNFD, while renewing their deal with Seattle-based Solid State Records, who has released the bands first two studio LP’s since the original signing in 2014. When asked about what the future holds for Silent Planet, they are refreshingly simple: “We want to connect and grow. These songs are our way of giving back to so many of those who have given to us. On tour we’ve met people isolated by bigotry, marred by addiction, scarred by loss - these songs are for them and anyone else grappling with these situations. Hope doesn’t have to be an abstract concept. It can be an embodied reality.” Perhaps the band’s message is best summed up in their own words: “Trade your certainty for awe.”
Like Moths To Flames conjure the type of anthems that move crowds and evoke each listener’s deeply rooted passions, as evidenced by the millions of streams accumulated by songs like “Bury Your Pain,” “No King,” “The Worst in Me,” “Wither,” and “You Won’t Be Missed” (which alone accounts for 5 million views on YouTube). Tours with bands like All That Remains, The Devil Wears Prada, and Memphis May Fire cemented their status as a live act worthy of admiration.
Album debuts on the Billboard 200 chart; high-profile stints on Vans Warped Tour, The AP Tour, Scream It Like You Mean It; headlining tours supported by bands like Crown The Empire, The Color Morale, and Palisades; the five-piece Columbus, Ohio metalcore monster is among the standard bearers of the genre.
Produced by Erik Ron (Attila, New Years Day, Set It Off), Dark Divine is the breathtaking result of experience, enthusiasm, and renewed vigor, an effort destined to ensure longevity for the band within an underground scene dominated by fading trends. Fronted by vocalist Chris Roetter and cofounding member Aaron Evans (bass/vocals), Like Moths To Flames have hit a creative high on album number four. It’s an electrifying showcase for what Roetter, Evans, Jeremy Smith (guitar), Zach Pishney (guitar), and Greg Diamond (drums) can achieve, with dedication and the hard won lessons learned while on the road.
Across four albums, Like Moths To Flames have enlisted friends and contemporaries from bands like Silverstein and the Amity Affliction as guests, while trading in massive breakdowns, thrashing riffs, and melodic might, adeptly moving between crushing brutality and soaring catchiness with powerful energy.
Alternative Press heralded the band’s sophomore set, An Eye for An Eye (2013), as “catchier, more anthemic and less dependent on easy ‘brutality’ than its predecessor,” the band’s head-turning debut album, When We Don’t Exist (2011), which Mind Equals Blown declared a “rage fest” for a “destructive mood.”
Completing a trilogy of albums produced by Will Putney (Every Time I Die, Knocked Loose, Fit For A King), The Dying Things We Live For was a swift and brutal shot across the bow against self-serving commercialism and contrived “evolution,” concentrating the darkest and angriest elements of the band’s sound into their heaviest album thus far. Having delivered the foundational mission statement, the group set their sights on bigger creative horizons and reinvention.
After all, the band’s versatility was evident when they accepted an invitation to participate in the popular Punk Goes Pop series, delivering a vibrantly confident cover of “Some Nights” by Fun. Dark Divine scratches the creative itch with broader dynamics and an empowering outlook, without sacrificing the group’s signature heaviness, striking a difficult balance many bands fail to execute.
The album’s title track demonstrates many of the album’s strengths in short order, delivering the goods with many of the elements Like Moths To Flames set out to explore. “Shallow Truth for Shallow Minds” jettisons the more linear thinking of the band’s previous work in favor of greater atmosphere, offering a rollercoaster ride through a variety of expressive styles and flourishes.
“Empty the Same” is a vibe soaked foray into balladry, crystalizing the fearless spirit that coalesced into Dark Divine, a record that’s less melancholy and angrily self-reflective lyrically than its predecessor, inviting listeners inside with new warmth. Other parts of the record are reminiscent of seminal groundbreaking records from influential bands like Senses Fail and others who laid the foundation for Like Moths To Flames, including their friends in The Devil Wears Prada.
It all amounts to a courageous and uplifting album that will satisfy old-school fans of Like Moths To Flames, audiences who devour every release from bands like August Burns Red, and future disciples alike. Dark Divine is a massive step toward ensuring the band leaves a legacy, opening the door to a long career doing what they’ve wanted to do from the very beginning: connecting with people around the world through the cathartic and impassioned power of heavy music.
