SJEL „Songs of the Silence”

Sjel is a gothic metal band from Poland and prior to this album, I have never heard of them. This is one of the better gothic bands I have heard in a long time. Sjel follows the standard gothic metal formula, in which you have your deep voiced male vocalist battling the angelic female vocals, the keyboards, and so on. But Sjel uses those elements in entirely new ways, creating unique, and original sounding songs. There are also hints of electronic music throughout this album, but they are so minimal, that this shouldn't discourage anyone from checking this band out. In fact, they actually enhance the listening experience, which so many goth bands either over do it or don't bother trying at all.

One very important element of a great album are the vocals, and Songs of the Silence has a great vocal performance by both the male vocalist as well as the female vocalist. He has a very unique voice that is just meant for this type of music. The music is atmospheric (as you would expect) and very theatrical in the way it's presented. One thing that came to my mind, and this is only my opinion, was the notion of a gothic metal opera. And if there ever was one, Sjel would definitely write the music for it. What more could I say, if you like bands like Tristania, Theatre of Tragedy, Sirenia, Sirrah, The Sins of Thy Beloved, then you will love this band. Sjel truly push the limits of writing good gothic metal songs and for that they should be awarded credit. Unquestionably a band to look out for in the future. Check out the track, “In Scarlet Waves (You Were Wondered)” from the Songs of the Silence promo.

note: 8/10