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Cullooden: Silent Scream

Melodic/Heavy/Progressive Metal

4.5/5.0

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Dead End Exit Records
by Craig Hartranft,  03.01.2014

More than a few years in the making, Sweden's Cullooden debuts their first album, Silent Scream. The core of the band is the trio of Fredrik Joakimsson (v/g), Jonas Ekestubbe (lg), and Michael Södergren (b), delivering a modern melodic heavy progressive metal.

Cullooden:: scream your bloody head off.

Excepting the basic foundation of melodic heavy metal, the other elements are somewhat nuanced. The modern sound comes from the more assertive heaviness, without sounding coarse, in the riffage and the occasional use of minimal hardcore vocals as within Heaven Feels So Hollow for example. The prog edge is subtle as shifts in tempo and signatures are so well blended into the song structure to develop with a degree of ease and surprise. Embrace Your Destiny is a good example of this when it shifts gears about the two-third mark with a groove heavy, guitar ripping, instrumental section.

And if you're a fan of lead guitar solos, which I am, Silent Scream has bunches of them. Delivered by Jonas Ekestubbe, they are quite innovative and entertaining throughout.. But his guitar structure is quite lethal over all, often setting the tone of songs at the start as with Our Only Desire. It starts with some delicate guitar play leading to a rather steady unswerving arrangement, until he rips of his lead.

A curious feature about Silent Scream is that many of the songs sound cluttered or busy, as if there is too much going on. This only struck me when I listened to the final song Star of the Night, and then returned to Heaven Feels So Hollow at the start. Alternatively, listening a second time, perhaps the better word to describe the arrangements either full or dense, with the various parts creating a substantial whole. Or could simply be that the riffage is immensely ubiquitous throughout. But I digress. Cullooden's Silent Scream is definitely packed with good sounds making for a creative and entertaining listen. Recommended.

Cullooden - Silent Scream Preview Video

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Cullooden's Silent Scream is definitely packed with good sounds making for a creative and entertaining listen. Recommended.

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