Silver Knife - Coloured LP

Since their formation in 2019, pan-European black metallers SILVER KNIFE have been patiently building their own sound world, first with 2020's full-length 'Unyielding/Unseeing' and then with 2022's 'Ring' EP. On the eve of the latter's release, the band made their first public appearance at the esteemed Roadburn Festival. And while the names and personalities behind SILVER KNIFE may be somewhat obscured, perhaps intentionally so, it's almost irrelevant that the four members collectively count among many of the most formidable bands in Belgium, France and the Netherlands orbiting the black metal sphere, so towering are these two recordings.

Like their first full-length, 'Silver Knife' features six core songs - but these new ones are even more epic, clocking in at 47 minutes. The quartet continue with the concept of being too reluctant to wallow in self-pity, and offering a harsh incentive in the midst of difficult times. As such, LP#2 feels expansive and urgent in equal measure, the riffing constantly cascading, always dangling on the precipice of hope and hopelessness, the rhythm section undulating and swaying with a fluidity that's mesmerising to behold. The vocals illustrate this hypothetical abyss with blanching emotion; where lyrics may not be readily apparent, the howls that announce those words clearly convey their meaning. More than anything else, 'Silver Knife' is breathtaking.