Shattered Shores is a concept album from Edmonton and Candian progressive metal group, Silent Shores. On the subject of the album:
Shattered Shores is a concept album – our first attempt at one that depicts a tortured island stuck in time being slowly worn away by an endless ocean. Themes of frost, snow, fire, night, and stars are used to illustrate feelings of hopelessness, fear, and loss. A single person is referred to throughout the album and everything is told from their point of view as they wander, stuck on the island unsure of how they got there, and unsure if they will ever leave. Lots of references to snow and frost are used as we live in Canada, and there is a lonely but beautiful character to the long winter we experience. Another recurring theme is the storm, which brings change and renewal; it is – for lack of a better term the symbol of hope and of a brighter future.
I stupidly confused this promo with another one I wan't too interested in initially, but thanks to Asher Media's persistence, I found out very quickly, (around "Erosion") that this album deserved more coverage than just a news item. I hate to continue to steal from the email I recieved, but their list of bands which might have similar fans is pretty flawless: In Flames, Wintersun, Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork, Amon Amarth, and At the Gates, I might also add in the lush symphonic approach of Equilibrium, but beyond that Silent Line really does an excellent job of boiling each of these groups down to their core elements and reconstructing them anew.
The killer guitar harmonies are a perfect cross between the Gothenburg sound and folk metal a la Ensiferum. I almost too this to be an album of the latter, but such a summation is too simplistic. The hooks, synthesizers, and clean vocals add an almost sci fi quality at times fusing Dark Tranquillity's more melodic works with Nuerotech. But still, the mournful strings and powerful leads on tracks like "Shattered Shores I," or the understated acoustic/choral intro of "Summersong," lean heavily on the style of Wintersun. In the end, perhaps it's niether. Silent Line may have stumbled onto the exact crossroads between melodeath and folk.
To say much more might spoil the moment. Just know that the compositions are airtight and this near hour of music is good to the last drop. I had already entered the majority of my top 10 lists for the year at the time of writing, but for this album I had to make a last minute revision. There's been stark competition in both prog and death metal this year, but Shattered Shores earned its place at the table. They may have been late to the party, but they showed up with 5 kegs just when the last one went dry. Pick this up today.