Silent Thoughts-Into Empathy Review

1. F92.0
2. Morbus Menière
3. The Last March
4. Intruder
5. Agoraphobia
6. Into Empathy pt.2
7. Outro

Rating: 8/10

---An Affinity of Manifold Sensations---

Silent Thoughts is the solo project from N. of Shroud of Distress.  As a big fan of Shroud of Distress I was glad to hear that N. was doing his own project.  I am a big fan of N.'s vox as well.  If you read the Shroud of Distress review, you know what I mean.  You can certainly feel and hear the emotion he brings out vocally but now he shows us what he can accomplish musically as well.  He is certainly not a novice musically either. He is talented in so many ways.  The new release Into Empathy surely proves he has got the skill to create such bleak and melancholic music in so many ways, add a touch of atmosphere, and bam, the perfect combo to make the perfect record.

While this is not as experimental by much as his other band Shroud of Distress, N. proves he can shine on himself as an atmospheric black metal soloist.  You also can't leave out the melancholy on this project.  Those guitars just vibrate with such aesthetic emotions enough to leave you in an oppressed state of mind. F92.0, Intruder, and Into Empathy pt.2, in my opinion, are the perfect examples of good quality riffing.  Into Empathy pt. 2 is certainly worth a listen and probably my most favorite track on the release.   There are a lot of nice build ups throughout every track on this opus. The production overall is nice and add a bit of a raw feel which goes nicely with the music.  Drums! Blast beats, mid paced, varying with tempo changes for that never dull moment.  The vox, well, powerful and emotional as always. He is really one of my favorite vocalist in this genre.

So a total of 7 total tracks and a little under 27 minutes is what you get with Into Empathy. The release date is scheduled for June 12, 2013. So come along and journey on with the music as N. takes you on a melancholic escapade full of power, emotion, and heart.  And finally, while this release provides really nothing new in the genre, it is certainly able to surpass those other bands or solo artists trying to do the same but with N.'s tremendous talent, he is sure to be up there soon if he can continue to bestow on us such beautiful and dark creativity at the same time. 

---Review by Freddy Garcia---