Review #7: Silverstein - A Shipwreck In the Sand

Artist: Silverstein
Album: A Shipwreck In the Sand (2009)
Genre: Post-hardcore
Length:  14 tracks / 47:09

I know I've been lazy with this, but work and Christmas shopping has been kicking my rear end. Anyway, here it is; my second Canadian review, and first of the band Silverstein: one of the five bands I own discographies for (at least ones consisting of multiple albums) and one of the few bands I've seen LIVE. Dear God, that was an amazing show. This is also the band's first attempt at a concept album and this was the first CD of their's I bought. On with the review.

This concept album is broken into 4 "chapters" over the course of it's 14 tracks (Ch. 1 = Tracks 1-3, Ch. 2 = 4-7, Ch. 3 = 8-10, Ch. 4 = 11-14), but they all tie in together to form one giant, skewed story of love, loss, anger, retribution, and everything in between. Note how I use skewed. The true storyline of the album is not linear. For example, the first song of the album is not the first event; in fact, I assume it is the climax to the story and chapters 2 and 3 are a flashback or backstory. The 4th chapter is the conclusion to the tale. Now not all the songs are related (some are metaphorical, some are just completely unrelated), but the basic gist of the story is a man who finds his significant other cheating on him with his best friend, and has his heart broken when he realizes she is going to leave him for his friend. After confronting his friend, he decides to take revenge on the cheating woman and their child by setting their house on fire. Realizing how much he loves them, he saves the two girls and is taken into custody after being accused of setting the house on fire. The girlfriend wins custody of the daughter but our "hero" is set free because of a lack of evidence. In a hotel room with the thought of never seeing his loved ones again and a possible prison sentence, he takes his life.
Now I'm just giving the backstory, but really giving no opinion on the album. Silverstein lives by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage and it's seen in this album as there's not too much technical difference from it's previous releases, but the songs and their execution are a major step up from previous releases. The songs themselves are much catchier, and the skills gained from recording 3 previous albums is noticed through riffs rarely heard in their previous releases. The screaming is quite legible which is always a plus to those who always complain that they can't understand the screaming, but there's also lots more actual singing and the singer, Shane Told, is as solid as ever, if not even better than the other albums. To those who don't mind screaming, and songs that aren't happy, rainbow-turd, unicorn-cutesy pa-tootsy about going to a club and having a good time being who you are, then definitely give this album a shot.

Now this is easily my favourite Silverstein album and I got this first, AND after I saw them live in Vancouver during the Warped tour in 2009 right when this was out. It starts off amazingly with a one-two punch and continues to fire out awesome songs that are catchy, headbangable, and most importantly: GOOD! I don't think I need to elaborate on that. That, and the previous section was huge, so this  is where I'll end the personal.

TREVOR'S FAVOURITE SONG: A Great Fire
A quiet, slow, intro with piano notes drifting in and out gets kicked into overdrive in the intro song to the album. In the storyline, this is after the protagonist has set fire to his house and has leapt back in to save his fiancée and daughter. Musically, it's a kicking track. Harsh vocals in the verses lead to a beautiful chorus with a basic but still awesome riff tickling one's ears. A haunting bridge leads us back into the kicking and ends off with another couple choruses before connecting to the second track. All together, this is a beautiful song that leads us into the climax of the story and gives of a great tone for the album.

RECOMMENDED SONGS:
A Great Fire [Track 1]
Vices [Track 2]
American Dream [Track 4]
A Shipwreck In the Sand [Track 8]
I Am the Arsonist [Track 9]
You're All I Have [Track 10]
A Hero Loses Everyday [Track 12]

Final Grade: 9.1/10 | A-
This is a great album and must buy. Not just buying individual tracks, but the whole record. If this album is not your thing, then why are you still reading this?


Also, just for those curious, the storyline:
Vices [Track 2]
American Dream [4]
I Knew I Couldn't Trust You [6]
I Am the Arsonist [9]
A Great Fire [1]
We Are Not the World [11]
A Hero Loses Everyday [12]
The End [14]