Review Summary: Silverstein doing what Silverstein does
There’s something to be said about a band that has the longevity to outlast the majority of their peers. What’s even more impressive is a group that manages to keep kicking beyond the “glory days” of the genre that made them so successful in the first place. Looking at the wave of early 2000’s post-hardcore bands, it’s easy to see that most of the crop of frontrunners has either been weeded out or has faded into obscurity. Alexisonfire is broken up, From Autumn to Ashes is done, Hawthorne Heights is doing God-knows-what, and other groups like Atreyu and From First to Last are just coming back after indefinite hiatuses. Silverstein, on the other hand, has managed to stick through the ups-and-downs of the music world through it all. After remaining active for over a decade and touring nearly non-stop, Silverstein has returned with their seventh album, I Am Alive In Everything I Touch.
Upon first listen, it’s clear that Silverstein hasn’t moved far from the sound that defined their 2013 album, This Is How the Wind Shifts or the stylistic approach that makes up their entire discography. With that being said, I Am Alive In Everything I Touch is laden with breakdowns, aggressive verses, clean choruses, and pounding, chunky riffs. Album opener and first single “A Midwestern State of Emergency” is immediately indicative of the familiar style, and it’s obvious from the first note that this won’t be the release that wins over any Silverstein naysayers. With that being noted, the song has a lot of things going for it. The opening riff hooks the listener immediately, and there’s a toothy sense of ferocity throughout much of the track. Unfortunately, its lackluster and woefully uninspiring chorus clearly demonstrates a concept that started off successfully and then headed in the wrong direction.
Beyond the first track, there’s more hit-and-miss to be found throughout the record. The second track, “Face of the Earth” is a notch or two better, but the chugging verse feels as though it was ripped from their track “Dancing On My Grave” and then paired with a weaker strong structure and chorus. Things start to pick up with “Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory” and with the darker, more aggressive latter half of the album. This territory is where Silverstein really begins to shine, which has seemingly always been the case. Their career has been highlighted by tracks like “The Artist”, and it would suit the band well if they’d go all-in and release an album heavily rooted in hardcore elements.
Guitar work truly stands out on this release, and some of Silverstein’s finest riffs are present here. “Je me Souviens” and “Buried at Sea” are both highlights in that department, and it’s refreshingly reassuring to hear that guitarists Josh Bradford and Paul Marc Rosseau haven’t run out of ideas quite yet. Vocals are great as usual too; vocalist Shane Told has no problems jumping between a throaty scream and a driving harmony. The end result of such musicianship is an album that’s merely held back on the songwriting front, which could easily be remedied by a branch into more unsafe territory.
I Am Alive In Everything I Touch is an album that showcases fantastic instrumentation and solid production to boot, but it’s absolutely nothing new in regards to Silverstein being Silverstein. The end result is an album that’s destined to have a few tracks be crowd favorites, a couple tracks be considered deeper cuts, and a few tracks be mostly forgotten. Silverstein is a consistent group by all regards, and this is certainly not an unwelcome addition to their collection of very good (but not amazing or classic) albums. What holds Silverstein back now is the fact that they have yet to release a career defining “magnum opus” that shows them capturing all of their potential, and it’s unclear whether or not that day will ever come. Regardless, this is still a well-made album in its own right and definitely warrants a listen from any past or current Silverstein fan.
