Artist: Silverstein
Album Title: Rescue
Record Label: Hopeless Records
Rating: 
Review by: Eric Stuckart
I remember when Silverstein’s first full length, When Broken is Easily Fixed, first came out in 2003. Their aggressive, almost metal approach to screamo filled in the gap sadly created by the breakup of Grade the year prior, and it was pretty close to what I was looking for. Their style was a little safer — a touch more melodic punk and less hardcore — but vocalist Shane Told embodied the spirit of Grade singer Kyle Bishop in his impassioned screams, and that’s what made me initially fall in love with this band. Plus, for what it’s worth, it was a hell of a lot better than Bishop’s comeback band, the short-lived The Black Maria.
Unfortunately, my adoration for that band was relatively short-lived, as the band aimed for a more mainstream, poppy sound with their follow-up, Discovering the Waterfront, much to my chagrin. The songwriting was toned down, and the screaming was utilized less often, more or less only as punctuation rather than the balanced blend that they had on their first one. In retrospect, I was most likely starting to just lose interest in that style, but I still remember it not being as good of an album.
So with that being said, it comes to a bit of a surprise to see a band like Silverstein in the year 2011. Most of the screamo/post-hardcore bands from their era didn’t have nearly the amount of longevity, having all but packed it up and gone home in favor of either morphing into heavier or more melodic styles, or just breaking up completely. (more…)
