Review by JD on December 22, 2016.

I am not quite up on the genres of dark/cold wave but I guess I will have a chance to know from a German band that seemed to have pioneered this style, Remain in Silence.

The German based band seems to have been around since the early 80’s, combining new age with a marked darker sort of approach to things and creating a whole new sort of movement. They seem to have a solid cult following at home and in other European countries, but seem to have had many stints away from the music over the years since.

Remain in Silence is defiantly not metal or able to be put into any of its varying subgenres so I go into it with an open mind of a musician with thirty years of playing, since they did submit their work to be reviewed. What I got was this bland version of 80’s new wave on a heavy prescription of downer trying while trying desperately to be poetic. With no energy to it and very minimal melody, it was like a very band imitation of Bob Dylan stuck in 1983 hell with bad musicians and even worse ideas. I liked some new wave acts back in the day, but this was in no way good.

Remain in Silence may have submitted to the wrong site here, but it does not change my mind, this is not music I can like, nor can appreciate in any way. I love many types of music as well as most forms of metal (classical, blues, rock/hard rock and new age are some), but this album is neither very good nor worthy of the words here. If you might be into the dark/cold wave, go at it and enjoy… for me, it’s just bad 80’s new wave that needs to be left back in that decade.


Musicianship: 1
Atmosphere: 0
Production: 0
Originality: 0
Overall: 0

Rating: 0.2 out of 10

Review by JD on December 22, 2016.

I am not quite up on the genres of dark/cold wave but I guess I will have a chance to know from a German band that seemed to have pioneered this style, Remain in Silence.

The German based band seems to have been around since the early 80’s, combining new age with a marked darker sort of approach to things and creating a whole new sort of movement. They seem to have a solid cult following at home and in other European countries, but seem to have had many stints away from the music over the years since.

Remain in Silence is defiantly not metal or able to be put into any of its varying subgenres so I go into it with an open mind of a musician with thirty years of playing, since they did submit their work to be reviewed. What I got was this bland version of 80’s new wave on a heavy prescription of downer trying while trying desperately to be poetic. With no energy to it and very minimal melody, it was like a very band imitation of Bob Dylan stuck in 1983 hell with bad musicians and even worse ideas. I liked some new wave acts back in the day, but this was in no way good.

Remain in Silence may have submitted to the wrong site here, but it does not change my mind, this is not music I can like, nor can appreciate in any way. I love many types of music as well as most forms of metal (classical, blues, rock/hard rock and new age are some), but this album is neither very good nor worthy of the words here. If you might be into the dark/cold wave, go at it and enjoy… for me, it’s just bad 80’s new wave that needs to be left back in that decade.


Musicianship: 1
Atmosphere: 0
Production: 0
Originality: 0
Overall: 0

Rating: 0.2 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 26, 2021.

The story of Gehenna is a sad one. They had an almost perfect start with the atmospherically outstanding First Spell, the Second Spell was also very convincing and they reached their peak with Malice. But the higher they climb, the harder they fall. Gehenna stumbled into a seemingly endless period of disorientation and released albums no one (or at least no follower from Gehenna’s first hour) wanted to hear from this band. Adimiron Black had the burden to be the direct successor of Malice. A thankless position, no doubt about it. Yet this is not the only reason why the album left me slightly disappointed.

First of all, the five-piece sets the focus on brutality. Generally speaking, this is no mistake. But in the case of Gehenna, this approach is at the expense of spirit, atmosphere and integrity. The opener starts with an explosion. It seems that the band wants to blow up the whole length of the Great Wall of China. The detonation sets the signal for the following material. Of course, already the first two full-lengths had left the debut’s path of total desperation. But here you will not find tracks that run in the vein of 'A Witch Is Born' or 'Bleeding The Blue Flame' either. Instead, a song like 'Deadlights' concentrates on massive force (but simultaneously it suffers from unsuitable breaks). The big picture of the song is okay, but it cannot hold a candle to the material of Malice.

The longer I look at the cover, the more I think that Gehenna wanted to break the chains of the initial second wave black metal sound. They spat on its aesthetics and presented a bloodthirsty artwork which actually was reserved for a (porn) grindcore horde. I admit that already this idiotic picture made and still makes it difficult for me to love the album wholeheartedly. Nevertheless, there are some tracks that prove Gehenna’s compositional skills. For example, the title track delivers a pretty catchy chorus and coherent riffing. 'Devil’s Work' is less furious than the remaining songs and builds a last bridge to the early songs of the Norwegians. The guitar lines possess a fatalistic touch and the drummer does not shy away from intense double bass driven sequences. At the end of the song, the keyboards gain the upper hand and create a rare moment of atmospheric density. By the way, they do not have a main role on this album, because the noisy production puts the focus on the lumpy guitar sound. It lacks sharpness and directness. The result is a mediocre production that does not generate a special aura.

Adimiron Black is no album one should completely ignore. Nevertheless, even with a playtime of less than 37 minutes, it seems too long and too confused, because it remains a mystery what the album wants to be. A black metal work? A bastard of black and death metal? An album beyond all categories that just wants to impress with the (regrettable) evolution of its spiritual fathers? From my point of view, it was just Gehenna’s first step down the ladder - and it was a big one.

Rating: 6.7 out of 10