The Silent Wedding -
Enigma Eternal


(CD 2017, 52:23, FYB Records)

The tracks:
  1- A Living Experiment(1:19)
  2- Shadows And Dust(4:15)
  3- What Lies Beyond(4:57)
  4- Insanity(4:14)
  5- The Endless Journey(4:23)
  6- A Dream Of Choices(4:43)
  7- Loneliness(5:28)
  8- Under The Veil Of Grey(6:17)
  9- Catharsis(5:05)
10- Closer To The End(4:47)
11- Silence(4:31)
12- Hands Of Fate(2:24)

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In the past couple of years I have seen The Silent Wedding on several occasions. As openers for Maiden uniteD and Threshold the band have made a very positive impression on me, both musical and on a personal level. Therefore I was very pleased when The Silent Wedding's second full album; Enigma Eternal landed on my desk for an objective review.

The Silent Wedding should be seen as a metal band, but over the years a lot of progressive rock elements have found their way into the music, which makes Enigma Eternal perhaps more suitable to progheads as to pure metalfans. The band was formed in 2006 by guitarist Jim “Underground” Katsaros and vocalist Marios Karanastasis. In 2009 keyboard player Johnny Thermos joined the band and one year later The Silent Wedding found a solid drummer in Renos Lialioutis. Bass player Tom Kinopoulos Wood is the latest member and debuts on their 2017 album.

The album starts with a short intro; A Living Experiment, a swift spherical piano and vocal introduction to the album. The first full song Shadows And Dust references Dream Theater due to the guitar and keyboards combination, but Marios vocals are much more theatrical and dramatic. His deeper voice, basically takes the band in another direction that the afore mentioned progmetallers.It is a fusion between technical progressive metal and bombastic power metal. During What Lies Beyond, I start to hear influences of Threshold, this band surely has made an impression when The Silent Wedding toured with them. It's the vocal line and even the style that remind me of one of the best vocalists I know; Damian Wilson. Renos' double bass work refers to another band that must have been of influence; Symphony X. Listen to Under The Veil Of Grey or Silence. What is pretty impressive, is the way The Silent Wedding lays a fine foundation of keyboards, and then added massive riffs and melodic guitar solos. Marios strong vocal lines finish their now distinguished style. Listen to A Dream Of Choices, Insanity or Shadows And Dust for the wonderful combinations. What I personally appreciate is the diversity of tracks on the album, both slower as well up tempo songs. Every one as impressive as the last. The obligated ballad Loneliness, is a very strong one; great solos, but you have to dig the dramatic southern European touch in the vocals to appreciate this composition. I personally like the Meatloaf referencing drama in this track.
If I should nag about anything, It would be the packaging itself. The Silent Wedding has created a unique digipack, where the designer flipped the template upside down. On purpose? A gimmick? Who knows, but it looks very special! However, it's the music that counts and that's just great.

The Silent Wedding has given us an album; Enigma Eternal, that is quite impressive, every track is a solid one, no fillers, just progressive rock compositions that last. Musically The Silent Wedding is a very competent band; the guitars and keyboards create an strong melodic atmosphere, where both drums and bass preserve the power. The icing comes from an intriguing voice, which adds a lot of bombast and positive drama to the overall sound.
I can't wait to see the band on stage again.

****+ Pedro Bekkers (edited by Dave Smith)

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