Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

Back in the early '90s there were the pioneering Midlands thrash metallers Seventh Angel who gained considerable success. From that band Ian Arkley continued with first Ashen Mortality and then My Silent Wake, which includes former members of Ashen. The mighty Kerrang magazine gave this album four out of five and pointed out that above the "suitable mournful" sounds as you would expect from a death metal album there are progressive elements in the form of folk/acoustic elements woven in. I would agree that there is variety in the album which veers from their trademark crushing heavy sound to the pure gothic "pendulum", this is a definite plus point for me. Songs are on the long side (most over the seven or eight minute mark with "Tunnels" clocking in at over 11 minutes). This reminds me of a musical book of Lamentations set to music and I was impressed by Ian's note on the sleeve that says a lot for the honesty of the music but also that there is hope contained within.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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