Posted By Reverend Leviathan on Apr 22, 2017 | 1 comment

Band: My Silent Wake
Release House: Opa Loka
Genre: Ambient/Experimental
One Sentence Synopsis: UK Doom Metal band offers fans more ambient/experimental music
Series: Standalone
Single/EP/Album: Album
Release Date: March 20, 2017
Running Time: 72 min
MSRP: $12.50
Discount Link: Click Here
Website: Click Here
Music Video: Click Here
Purchase Site: Click Here
Reviewed by: Reverend Leviathan
Final Score: 5.0 Moons (out of 5)

English doom metal band My Silent Wake releases their second dark ambient/experimental album.  Recorded and mixed in 2016 the album features over 30 individual instruments and various recordings of voices and noises.  Two of the tracks are re-workings of previously unreleased MSW recordings.

Theme

My Silent Wake experiments once again with dark ambient, this time drawing upon more instruments and having more of an acoustic feel than their previous experimental album.  There is less vocalization and more instrumentation.  There are really only two songs that have lyrics sung by Ian Arkley (“Lament of the Defeatist” and “Song of Acceptance”) and the first one doesn’t show up until track 7.  A lot of stringed instruments and the songs with Ian singing are reminiscent of My Silent Wake’s acoustic material.

“Aventourine” introduces the listener to the more electronically-oriented ambient music of the album, and then a couple tracks later you have “Nebula” which is also more electronic.

The album concludes with the twenty-minute long “Melodien der Waldgeister,” and it feels like a journey.  Nice sounds of nature and walking, with a beautiful flute in the background mixed with multiple percussion instruments.  Over 30 different individual sounds on the album ending peacefully with just a few.

My Silent Wake – Invitation to Imperfection – msw 2017

Presentation

If their experimental ambient album Eye of the Needle didn’t shock your ears enough, then prepare yourself for this!  The time and precision that went into this album, its recording, mixing and mastering, definitely paid off (with all those different sounds and instruments it couldn’t have been easy!).  It’s put together in such a way that it brings such peace and relaxation to the listener.

It’s so hard for me to discuss the instruments due to how many are present in this album, but the mixing of them all together was done extremely well; not one sounds overpowering.  As I was listening to “Tempest” I almost felt like Riverdancing.  The flutist brings a lot of power to each track he appears in.  Ian Arkley’s vocals are top notch as usual, and his lyrics very heartfelt.    The more electronically-oriented ambient tracks act as good interludes between the acoustic songs.  It would’ve been cool to hear a couple more.

Gothic Fit

I know many Goths, myself included, who are fans of ambient and dark orchestra such as Midnight Syndicate and Nox Arcana.  If those two names ring a bell then Invitation to Imperfection is definitely something one must check out.  Beautiful dark music with a classical feel at times runs throughout this album.

Closing Thoughts

Invitation to Imperfection is a misleading title; this album is My Silent Wake’s PERFECTION of dark ambience!

Theme: 5.0 Moons (out of 5)
Presentation: 5.0 Moons (out of 5)
Gothic Fit: 5.0 Moons (out of 5)
Final Score (not an average): 5.0 Moons (out of 5)