Silent Civilian

Some of you might know who Jonny Santos is. If you don’t well, he was the lead vocalist for Spineshank… looks like he broke off and formed a new band – Silent Civilian! Silent Civilian is a metalcore band from Los Angeles, California and after Jonny left Spineshank, he felt lost without the screams, raunchy riffs, and brutal metal of his former band, so he formed a new band. Silent Civilian consists of four people; Jonny Santos (Guitar/Vocals), Chris Mora (Drums), Stan Derby (Bass/Backing Vocals), and Marcus Rafferty (Guitar), and have just released their debut album entitled Rebirth of the Temple.

The album opens up with a track titled “A Call to Arms,” which is an interesting little composition. The track is only an instrumental, but it good nonetheless. It sounds sort of Mayan if you ask me. There’s chanting throughout the length of the track and it opens up into the album itself.

The second track on the album is “Funeral.” This track is composed extremely well, sounds tight and definitely rocks out! Scattered harmonics draw the listener in, wanting more and more and Jonny’s lyrics kick ass. His screams make me want to just sit there and head bang.

The fourth tune is the title track “Rebirth of to Temple” and should therefore be one of the main attractions of the disc… and of course, it is! The track is neatly performed and is tight as hell. I don’t think it’s possible to play this song any more perfectly. There are no faults, no adjustments to be made, and definitely no bullshit!

Seventh on the album is “Force Fed.” This is one of the few tracks that reminds me very much of Spineshank. Of course the main reason for this is Jonny’s vocals. He uses the same scream style as he did in Spineshank, so of course it will sound similar. The bass line to the track is wicked and if you can’t hear it, then just fiddle with the controls so you can.

Next up is “Dead to Me 2006.” I love metalcore/hardcore, but this song is sort of repetitive. Not as much variety as all of their other songs. Don’t get me wrong, the track is still good, but they have better. The lyrics are repetitive, as is the instrumental aspect of the song. One great area of the track was the guitar solo… it is played tightly and well.

Lastly is “Live Again.” This song takes it down a notch. The track is fairly slow-paced and easy to listen to and Jonny changed his singing style almost entirely for this track. He has a nice voice, and it’s soft on the ears, but he’s better at screaming. After the soft part of the track, the distortion is cranked on and the edge is brought back… with the occasional scream.

Overall, Silent Civilian have brought a bit of a new edge into metalcore. Their unique playing style and lyrics greatly contribute to the society of metal. I give this album an 8/10. Thanks guys.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Intro – Call to Arms
02. Funeral
03. The Song Remains Un-Named
04. Rebirth of the Temple
05. Divided
06. Bitter Pill
07. Force Fed
08. Lies in The House of Shame
09. Wrath
10. Dead to Me 2006
11. Blood Red Sky
12. Falling Down
13. Live Again

Run Time: 64:57