My Silent WakeIV Et Lux Perpetua
Dark Balance- 2010

Just after releasing their split album with fellow doomsters The Drowning, My Silent Wake returns with their latest album, IV Et Lux Perpetua, which is being released by Dark Balance.  This album is a bit different from previous ones from My Silent Wake.  The usual acoustic instruments are not used.  In fact, the only different instrument that they use on this album is the synthesizer.  Overall, this is a lot heavier sounding album than previous releases but you can still tell that it’s My Silent Wake and their style of death/doom.  “Et Lux Perpetua” starts off the album and has a great low end which gives it a true heaviness.  And the female vocals on the track give it an ethereal feel right before the heaviness again overcomes you.  “Death Becomes Us” and “Bleak Endless Winter” keep the doom coming.  There are some great grooves in both of these songs.  What’s great is that they sound like a groove that you’ve heard before but is completely different, showing the brilliance of My Silent Wake’s songwriting abilities.  “Father”, the longest song on the album at just over seven minutes, intertwines both clean and harsh vocals in a back-and-forth style as the music plods along, slowly ebbing and flowing as the waves of the sea.  “Graven Years” is a bit faster but still heavy.  The guitar-work is almost mesmerizing and the guitar solo near the end is excellent. “My Silent Wake” is a captivating song starting from its opening riffs and melancholic/haunting vocals. “Between Wake and Sleep” starts off a little lighter musically than the previous songs, an almost lilting feel . . . just before it kicks into high gear with the death/doom.  “Journey’s End” closes out the album.  This song is definitely different from the normal My Silent Wake fare.  Starting off with the synthesizer making a warbling sound, the song has a psychedelic rock feel to it.  You can almost see the band on a tie-dyed stage with multiple colored lights flashing about while they play the song.  The vocals are strong but not over-powering.  And the song is well-balanced with no particular instrument being louder than the other.  Overall, this album is another fantastic release from My Silent Wake.  It has everything we expect from the band – heaviness, melancholy, haunting beauty and the unexpected.

[rating:6.5/7]

Reviewed by Jeff de los Santos