| Band
Members: |
Jerry Sahlin / synthesizers, lead
& backing vocals, vocoder & deck of cards |
Ola Andersson / electric & acoustic
guitars, lead & backing vocals |
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Peter Asp / bass guitar, synthesizer
bass & bass pedals |
Herman Saming / lead & backing
vocals |
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Thomas Lejon / drums & percussion
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| Track
Listing: |
1.)- Truth is Pain
(4:09) |
8.)-Useless Argument
(4:49) |
| |
2.)- Puppeteers (4:13) |
9.)- The Voice Within (3:55) |
| |
3.)- This Wonderful
World (4:20) |
10.)-Polish, Reduce,
and Enlarge (3:55) * |
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4.)-Out of Ideas (4:47)
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11.)-Call In Dead
(2:51) |
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5.)- Hope (4:29) |
12.)-Silent Screams
(1:58) |
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6.)-Into the Unknown (3:55) |
13.)-Introduction (0:51) |
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7.)- No Longer Touching Ground
(4:11) |
14.)-The Millionaire (2:10) |
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15.)- Joanna (3:09) |
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16.)-A Father's Love (2:32) |
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17.)-Memory to Fight
(2:43) |
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18.)-The Diary (3:10) |
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19.)- A Wound that Won't Heal
(4:32) |
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20.)-The Final Silence (1:36)
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| The
Review |
A.C.T. is like money in the bank. Their first 3 releases
are all essential, and all amazing in their unique way. This,
the band's fourth release, is no exception. A.C.T. is certainly
unique - in fact it is almost impossible to convey whet this
band sounds like. The best I have been able to come up with
is a combination of the slick neo-prog bands like IQ, vocal
ambitions similar to Queen, some poppiness not unlike Supertramp,
and some prog metal influence on the quirky side ala Pain
of Salvation. Sound different enough?
"Silence" contains the same fast-paced, vocal oriented,
quirky music we have come to expect from this band. I have
read some review of this album that suggest a change in the
band's sound. I own all of their albums - and the only change
that I detect is that the metal element is diminished on this
album. The rest is the same. Keyboards are primarily piano
(both regular and e-piano), and flourishes of moog are ever
present which add nice spice. This band thrives on interesting
song development, and despite the shorter track length of
most songs - they manage to cram a lot into 4 minutes.
Herman Saming continues to be the main attraction on lead
vocals. His voice can do so many things in the very high ranges
as well as low. To me - he is the best part of this band.
I had heard he had some vocal issues recently - but I don't
detect any difference here in his sound. Awesome guitar leads
and awesome keyboard accompaniment. HUGE vocals ala Queen
are all over the place. As usual - the band incorporates a
large (22 minute) epic with multiple parts - and "Consequences"
is up there with the past epics on their other releases. This
record is intense and wonderful. Soft moments mix with fast
paced quirkiness and some occasional heaviness. I love these
guys and hope they stay around forever.
Great album - highly recommended. Rating: 4.5 stars
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