Review by TheOneNeverSeen on February 4, 2024.

Here it is, "Death - Pierce Me" by Silencer, the band that has more myths surrounding it than the songs it wrote. As always, I won't be paying any attention to the sp00ky stories of how Nattramn allegedly cut himself while recording this album or killed a girl with an axe and ended up in a loony bin, I am here for the music.

The musical style of the album is rather intricate. Nattramn's vocals mercilessly piercing your ears (you get the joke, don't you?) are no way near traditional DSBM rattling whisper or sobbing shrieking. Due to their phantasmagorical sound, they don't even seem sad or depressed. Instead, they are... insane. Yeah, that's the word that would fit his style more than anything. Most of the time he just squeals the abstract lines varying between actual darkness ("I am what you deserve,/Death do me submerge", "Needles, injecting pain/Flammable skin/And deadly thirst") and excessive pretentiousness ("I am.../The silverhawk,/The razorking,/The cosmic observer,/The galactic crusader,/The eater of thoughts") in agony. While this style is definitely not for everyone, I find it unconventional and, well, impressive (not many vocalists can scream like this).

Just like the vocals, the instruments are good. The guitar sound is very clean, which doesn't prevent it from sounding emotional and tense (especially at the start of the title track and on "The Slow Kill in the Cold", where the lead and the rhythm guitar combine to form a truly atmospheric sound). The energetic drums (also very clean) alongside the occasional keyboards and acoustic guitar also add to the album's emotionality.

Speaking of the album's riffs, I wouldn't say they are particularly amazing. Rather, it's the guitar tone and the insane vocals that make them remarkable. The songwriting is good, especially on "Sterile Nails and Thunderbowels" and "Taklamakan", where various parts of the song concentrated on different emotions and moods are nicely merged together.

The best thing about the album is probably its consistency. The songs don't feel too long or uniform (personally I deemed the piano outro "Feeble Are You - Sons of Sion" unnecessary, but the rest of the songs are fine at least and cool at most). The record has numerous notable moments, such as Nattramn's first scream, the intro riff and the… breakdown? of "Sterile Nails and Thunderbowels", the outro of "Taklamakan" or the synth intro of "The Slow Kill in the Cold". The sound doesn't lose its power over time, nor does the songwriting.

So, while "Death - Pierce Me" certainly isn't able to compete with the melancholic trance of "Soundtrack for a Suicide - Opus II", the engrossing sound of "Subliminal Genocide" or the pure despair and mind-blowing (both metaphorically and literally (you know, when you shoot yourself in the head, you kinda... blow your mind... Alright, I will stop)) riffs of "Dipsomania", it is a very unusual album for DSBM and definitely doesn't deserve the hatred it sometimes gets. It is not the best album in the genre, but it's certainly among the most remarkable and eerie ones.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex Grindor on February 4, 2024.

Silencer, a band probably a little underground an unknown to some, recorded only one album and one demo, a one track demo named Death, Pierce Me and I must say that, though it doesn't match the final version on the album, its still very interesting to hear, and to those who got this before the album know that. Mostly because of the diferences with this version and the final one in the album.

First of all, the music. This version starts with some single acoustic guitar notes (acompannied by the bass), and then starts almost like in the final version, only that the Hi-Hat sounds a little louder and the acoustic guitar sound slightly different. The guitars in this song are really low, almost unhearable. The piano interlude is a little different and short too and the song's tempo is slightly slowler.

Then we have Nattramn's vocals. Unlike the final version, it doesn't sound extremely weak (and comical), the vocals are not that high. The vocals are more agonizing that insane, which makes the sound really different compared with its final version. Personally, I think he should have used vocals more agonizing instead of that comically insane (or insanelly comical) high shrieks we heard on the album (but still, if Nattramn hadn't done that, Silencer wouldn't be Silencer)

If you like Bethlehem, you will like this as well, a good choice to hear that will make you travel to the mind of an agonizing and insane singer as Nattramn was. Though the final version is WAY much better (vocally speaking), is never to late to hear the beginnings... unless you're a little crying baby. If that's so (as Jeff the Killer would say), go to sleep...

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Nathan on February 4, 2024.

Hype is a strange thing to me. Bands that don’t deserve praise will often get way too much of it, and albums will get praised for their more inferior assets as opposed to their best qualities, it happens all the time, I’m sure any metal fan could name several overhyped albums off the top of his head if he wanted to. The thing that infuriates me the most, though, is that sometimes albums will receive critical acclaim for qualities that don’t even exist in the music at all! I’m not talking about qualities such as the album being good or not, I’m talking about objective qualities, things that really aren’t based strictly on opinion. As you may have guessed, Death – Pierce Me is such an album. What is the nonexistent quality being fellated in this case? The constant claims by black metal fans that don’t know what they’re talking about that this is somehow the most sick, twisted, mentally insane record one could ever hear. This album is not sick or twisted in any way and I’m here to tell you why people think it is but it actually isn’t.

When getting to the root of this misconception, there’s one thing that can’t be ignored, something has to be dismissed right away: The vocals. It’s fairly easy to see why they get so much attention, because the more aggressive sections of the vocals are delivered in an incredibly original manner- they’re very high-pitched, almost like a black metal falsetto in a way, even the whiniest of whiny little shits in black metal (Wrest, for example) can’t match the pitch this guy manages to hold (for quite a long time, too, at some parts) and it’s a fresh take on an over-saturated vocal style. You could call them groundbreaking, I guess, but don’t mistake that for vocals that, as one reviewer put it, “show that his mental capacity is running out and he’s literally going insane”. One thing people like this seem to be missing is that despite their high pitch and volume, they actually sound really clean- they’re quite devoid of any harsh static crackling that’s rather prevalent in black metal vocals and because they’re not really that rough around the edges, the shock value of them merely comes from their higher pitch. I think the reason people say these vocals are “insane” is because, well, remember when you were just getting into extreme metal, or even any facet of metal with harsh vocals? They were strange, weird and uncomfortable to your ears, right? Well, that same lack of conditioning is exactly what’s going on in Death – Pierce Me. The shock of something new and unknown creates over-exaggerations of insanity. After a few spins of this album in full, the vocals don’t really sound mindblowing- they simply sound like a different style, an alternative like any other.

The high-pitched shrieking isn’t the only dimension Nattramn’s voice has, though, he also uses this sick wailing croak the odd time here and there, clearly attempting to sound like he’s crying. A grown man crying- no, wailing- over music? An interesting artistic choice, not something I’m going to demean for the sake of demeaning it, but does it work properly in conveying the insanity Nattramn wants to portray? Not really, when I hear that kind of thing, I’m not thinking to myself, “oh my he’s crying in his music that means he has real metal disorders and emotional pain”, I’m thinking “oh my he’s crying in his music what a whiny little bitch”. Insanity should be shown by raw, spastic ferocity, not pathetic whimpering.

That’s almost enough reason on its own to dismiss rumors of this album’s insanity, because the vocals are the only thing people are actually talking about when they discuss how sick and gut-wrenching this album is, but to be honest, if the vocals were backed up by DSBM that wasn’t as sweet and sugary as this stuff, I might have reason to latch on to the hype. The guitar doesn’t have the crunch it needs to mask the strangely conventional melodies- for something that’s supposed to send me on some intense psychotic journey this is some really melodic, accessible music. Structurally, it seems rather conventional and predictable, too, with simple, logical buildups and transitions- hell, the title track even follows the standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus format, just stretched out to 10 minutes.

For a "suicidal" black metal album, Death - Pierce Me is rather musically dense- there’s a lot more going on here than most DSBM bands, as others prefer to take the minimalist route and play simpler melodies, letting slow-building chords resonate. Silencer take a slightly less original route (in black metal as a whole, anyways) by juxtaposing sections of basic, standalone melodies on piano or guitar or something, with sections of fast-paced drumming, riffing and screeching, aka “normal” black metal. Everything seems so carefully laid out and planned, and it loses a hell of a lot of its zing because of that- the best DSBM bands are the best because of the raw emotion and complete disregard for anything else in their music, they play because the riffs HAD to come into existence. Every riff needed that exact pitch, timbre, tempo and melody to properly convey the feelings of despair. There’s no sense of necessity or impulse here- every time I hear one of those long, drawn-out pseudo ambient piano sections, all I can picture is Nattramn saying something like “ooh, and then after I’m finished that fast and ferocious section, I’ll cry over a “somber” piano part! If I do that, then people will REALLY think I’m insane!”

Basically, it sounds really contrived. In a strictly musical sense, though, it’s not really a bad thing for the album, as Nattramn does know his way around basic songwriting 101, and for the most part, can write riffs that don’t irritate the shit outta me and actually get me nodding my head some of the time. The guy’s got some clear artistic ability; he’s not just a hack like the legions of other DSBM artists that don’t deserve much more than a shit on their face. However, unfortunately enough, these qualities actually work against the theme of the album- when I hear something that’s been deemed insane, I don’t expect to hear a squeaky-clean, formulaic, polished work- I expect something that either viciously grabs me by the nuts, or, alternatively, lets me settle in to its thin veil of comfort, and only once I pay attention to it do I start to think “man, these guys are pretty fucked up”.

This is far from the worst DSBM there is, for sure- in fact, given that there’s a plethora of god-awful bands that play in this vein, this is probably one of the better albums of the style, simply because of the compositional skill present that so many others lack. On a strictly musical level, I’d probably give this about a 65, give or take a few. However- the simple fact is, this is an artistic failure in the sense that there’s an incredible contrast between what he intended to create and what did create- when listening to this, even though it’s executed professionally I can’t help but feel that the album’s goal falls flat on its face for that reason specifically. It got marked down quite a bit for that. Silencer is simply another overrated novelty band that will get unnecessary praise and hatred until the end of time, and the reality is there’s not really much here worth loving or hating. Death – Pierce Me is inoffensive, bland, and not worth any sort of attention.

Rating: 3.4 out of 10

Review by Luka on April 28, 2002.

Just when I’d resolved that almost every metal band in the world by now had taken off to explore new realms of experimentation and endless ingenuity comes this juggernaugth of the pure oldschool traditional style to say otherwise. Borrowing the popular sound of Halford and 90’s Judas Priest (and out-doing them both), Germany’s Primal Fear demonstrate a solid unwavering vision and mean execution of what true metal should be: a fast, pulse-shredding carnage of wailing solos and brilliant musicianship!! Turn it up and rock!

The energy and groove roaring from the speakers of "Black Sun" is monstrous! When a driving beat from 'Fear' or 'Mind Machine' starts up it will take chains to keep you still. Primal Fear keep the idea simple, forming sharp and shredding riffs and screaming solos over a framework of deep bass and very catchy groove: creating an air guitar and drummer’s paradise! Henny Wolter’s guitar dominates the album but it’s not overdone, they know their instruments. Primal Fear forge the finest metal and make it look easy.

Now I know Germany is famous for it’s large number of cheese exports and for those just skimming over the review I want to make this clear: Primal Fear are NOT POWER METAL. This is "Painkiller"-era Priest with a more bad-ass singer and tougher attitude. 'Silence' and the mellower songs show the band’s softer side long enough to let you relax before the fast, thrashout tunes like 'We Go Down' rip your face off. After the fifth song the speed and sheer intensity of the album catapult you into metal heaven and the hellride ain't over ‘till the very end. Open a beer and fucking party! This rules!

Bottom Line: This album makes you stand and cheer for the glory of heavy metal. Fantastic!

Originality: 4
Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.3 out of 10

Review by Luka on April 28, 2002.

Just when I’d resolved that almost every metal band in the world by now had taken off to explore new realms of experimentation and endless ingenuity comes this juggernaugth of the pure oldschool traditional style to say otherwise. Borrowing the popular sound of Halford and 90’s Judas Priest (and out-doing them both), Germany’s Primal Fear demonstrate a solid unwavering vision and mean execution of what true metal should be: a fast, pulse-shredding carnage of wailing solos and brilliant musicianship!! Turn it up and rock!

The energy and groove roaring from the speakers of "Black Sun" is monstrous! When a driving beat from 'Fear' or 'Mind Machine' starts up it will take chains to keep you still. Primal Fear keep the idea simple, forming sharp and shredding riffs and screaming solos over a framework of deep bass and very catchy groove: creating an air guitar and drummer’s paradise! Henny Wolter’s guitar dominates the album but it’s not overdone, they know their instruments. Primal Fear forge the finest metal and make it look easy.

Now I know Germany is famous for it’s large number of cheese exports and for those just skimming over the review I want to make this clear: Primal Fear are NOT POWER METAL. This is "Painkiller"-era Priest with a more bad-ass singer and tougher attitude. 'Silence' and the mellower songs show the band’s softer side long enough to let you relax before the fast, thrashout tunes like 'We Go Down' rip your face off. After the fifth song the speed and sheer intensity of the album catapult you into metal heaven and the hellride ain't over ‘till the very end. Open a beer and fucking party! This rules!

Bottom Line: This album makes you stand and cheer for the glory of heavy metal. Fantastic!

Originality: 4
Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.3 out of 10

Review by JD on December 29, 2010.

Bands that so closely sound like someone else is a real pet peeve for me. As a musician, I am heavily influenced by many bands from many stages in my life, but I intentionally steer my playing away from using riffs that could be even a little bit too close sounding like my ‘heros’. I am no shredder or some sort of guitar god by any stretch of the imagination, but I try to be original.

Revelation is a band that on the surface, sounds way too much like early and doomier side of Black Sabbath. The riffs were pretty close in spots, as was the ‘subtly set in the back of the recording’ vocals like Oz Man used on the first three classic Sab albums. Listen and learn, all of you metallic minions... and you will here a band that is like the Godfathers Of Metal, yet they still are their own musical beast.

Classy old school Doom has not sounded so remarkable as it does with Revelation and their album "Never Come Silence". Highlights on the album are chocked full and includes the ode to Ozzy of ‘Ashes’ and the band really comes into their own with the eighteen minute opus of the title track that seems to spin and twirl with eerie life like a deep night time fog over a spooky lake. This track is symphonic without all of the baggage that comes with it all. It is going for the feel rather than some sweeping arrangement.

It all reminds me of the Sabbath first album, which happens to be my favourite album from the masters. That being said, it still is way more than that. It does seem a tad dated with the sound, but it sounds so good that it does not matter. Light some candles in a dark room, lay back with a cold one in hand and let the music take you away to where things go ‘bump’ in the night. Things cannot get any better than this.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8.5
Originality: 7
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Review by JD on December 13, 2008.

Humm... this Finnish band calls themselves ‘Hybrid Metal’, rather than taking the more pedestrian pigeonholing of a name to describe themselves to the thrashing masses around the world. I have to say, that term does describe them to a tee, as they expand what it is that Metal in all of it’s parts are.

Shade Empire is a perfect example of a band taking as pool of many different influences, and coming out something that is amazingly fresh, yet unmistakably brutal as well. They take everything here... from Symphonic Cradle of Filth to almost a lethally heavy version of Nightwish, old school thrash( in a way) to even adding in Classic Metal as well. They simply gather it all together, and came out with a outright gem of an album that must be heard, to believe.

The band seems to know exactly what the music needed, and never gave too much or too little while just delivering the perfect sort of sonic attack. A perfect stepping stone for (dare I say) to the next level of metal? I say that Shade Empire very well shows the wonderful progression of metal. Just one listen to the song ‘Adam and Eve’ and you will become a Shade Empire backer in no time. The whole album is just that great, and just begs to be heard... and to be felt as well.

Totally brutal as they are also damned intriguing, this band must be heard by the metal masses, and sent forward to conquer out little bluish green planet. Join the Shade Empire... may the first parliament of Hybrid Metal reign over us withe their power... and do it for a very long time.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 10
Originality: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by JD on December 13, 2008.

Humm... this Finnish band calls themselves ‘Hybrid Metal’, rather than taking the more pedestrian pigeonholing of a name to describe themselves to the thrashing masses around the world. I have to say, that term does describe them to a tee, as they expand what it is that Metal in all of it’s parts are.

Shade Empire is a perfect example of a band taking as pool of many different influences, and coming out something that is amazingly fresh, yet unmistakably brutal as well. They take everything here... from Symphonic Cradle of Filth to almost a lethally heavy version of Nightwish, old school thrash( in a way) to even adding in Classic Metal as well. They simply gather it all together, and came out with a outright gem of an album that must be heard, to believe.

The band seems to know exactly what the music needed, and never gave too much or too little while just delivering the perfect sort of sonic attack. A perfect stepping stone for (dare I say) to the next level of metal? I say that Shade Empire very well shows the wonderful progression of metal. Just one listen to the song ‘Adam and Eve’ and you will become a Shade Empire backer in no time. The whole album is just that great, and just begs to be heard... and to be felt as well.

Totally brutal as they are also damned intriguing, this band must be heard by the metal masses, and sent forward to conquer out little bluish green planet. Join the Shade Empire... may the first parliament of Hybrid Metal reign over us withe their power... and do it for a very long time.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 10
Originality: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by JD on December 13, 2008.

Humm... this Finnish band calls themselves ‘Hybrid Metal’, rather than taking the more pedestrian pigeonholing of a name to describe themselves to the thrashing masses around the world. I have to say, that term does describe them to a tee, as they expand what it is that Metal in all of it’s parts are.

Shade Empire is a perfect example of a band taking as pool of many different influences, and coming out something that is amazingly fresh, yet unmistakably brutal as well. They take everything here... from Symphonic Cradle of Filth to almost a lethally heavy version of Nightwish, old school thrash( in a way) to even adding in Classic Metal as well. They simply gather it all together, and came out with a outright gem of an album that must be heard, to believe.

The band seems to know exactly what the music needed, and never gave too much or too little while just delivering the perfect sort of sonic attack. A perfect stepping stone for (dare I say) to the next level of metal? I say that Shade Empire very well shows the wonderful progression of metal. Just one listen to the song ‘Adam and Eve’ and you will become a Shade Empire backer in no time. The whole album is just that great, and just begs to be heard... and to be felt as well.

Totally brutal as they are also damned intriguing, this band must be heard by the metal masses, and sent forward to conquer out little bluish green planet. Join the Shade Empire... may the first parliament of Hybrid Metal reign over us withe their power... and do it for a very long time.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 10
Originality: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.6 out of 10