When Silence Grows Venomous

"When Silence Grows Venomous" is the debut single by the Swedish death/doom act Soliloquium. To tell you the truth, even though I'm a doom metal fanatic, I never really ventured into the realm of death/doom before, besides some older groups like Dream Death. I can't say that I care for death metal vocals for the most part, but some albums/bands utilize them well or enough for me to not even notice, or even enjoy them as much as clean vocals. With that known, I have to say that after listening to this demo I can put Soliloquium into the list of bands that utilize death vocals well in my opinion. The vocals are not too overbearing like in a lot of other releases I have listened too. They are in just the right spot in the mix; not too high, not too low. There is also some really nice clean vocals scattered throughout that breaks up what could have been a very monotonous listen.

The production is quite clear and crisp for being a demo. All the instruments are heard clearly, and the guitars have that dirge quality that is the signature of doom metal. I have to say though, the drums are a little low in the mix; I think it would have given the demo a little more bite if they were raised a little bit, though this is only a minor complaint. The bass, however, is not very audible in the mix at all, with the guitars dominating for the most part. The two songs have a mix of a more typical doom metal sound (slow tempos, heavy guitars, etc.) and also some nice clean guitar parts scattered throughout that add some songwriting variety as well as some more melodic tinges to their doom sound.

To sum it all up, I think with a little time, these guys could make some noise in the death/doom genre. They have the chops and the songwriting abilities to make a great album in the future, and I will be looking forward to more material from these guys! There demo is available for free, so there is no reason why any death/doom metal fan shouldn't give these tracks a chance. Even more traditional doom fans like myself may find something to like on this demo. Give it a listen!