It's been a quarter of a century since Silverstein burst onto the scene. Since then, they've released thirteen studio albums, three compilations, a live album, and more. Twenty-five years in, the band only grows bigger, with no end in sight for their creative spark.
I was introduced to Silverstein by my friend Jordan (more popularly known online as HaloBoxStudios) during a Halo event in Seattle in 2024, and I was instantly hooked. I went through their entire catalogue pretty quickly, and even ended up peforming their song "Smile In Your Sleep" at karaoke once. Luckily for me, 2024 saw the announcement of the double album Antibloom and Pink Moon, marking the end of a three-year gap since the Canadian post-hardcore quintet's previous release, Misery Made Me. Antibloom was slated for a release in February, with Pink Moon following later in the year. Both records were recorded at the same time, and now that both halves have been released, I thought it best to review the whole package.
Antibloom's opener, "Mercy Mercy", kicks off the album like a freight train, with powerful screams from vocalist Shane Told and frantic riffs assaulting the ears right off the bat, setting the tone for the record. We're in for some moody shit. The track quickly leads into a despondant chorus, one of many found throughout the album's duration. The conclusion of the track is a blistering, voicemail-telegraphed breakdown, but one that avoids the done-to-death trope of "break-up voicemail sample" and trades it in for something more ominous instead, making the whole ordeal feel much more memorable.
This melancholic theming is the emotional core that follows the album throughout. Even if the instrumentation is upbeat, like the follow-up track, "Don't Let Me Get Too Low", or the pop-tinged interlude "A Little Fight", the bleak concepts of death, isolation, regret, and self-destruction are inescapable. In the words of the band themselves on the track "Stress", it's "stressed-out music." "Stress" is also worth hailing, as it's the most nu-sounding track on the record, with riffs that would make Wes Borland tip his hat.
The first half of the duology culminates with "Cherry Coke", an emo slow-build. The theming hit particularly close to home upon release and I am not ashamed to admit it brought a tear to my eye. What a closer.
Pink Moon opens on a similar tone, with "I Love You but I Have to Let You Go", another similarly slow tune. The track's short runtime means there's no real room for a build-up and that leaves it feeling more like an interlude than an opening. Fortunately, what follows is an absolute blast. "Negative Space" is the follow-up, once again launching us into a helter-skelter blitzkrieg of verses, with yet another catchy chorus interwoven.
The poignant themes from Antibloom carry over quite frequently to Pink Moon, but there's tracks throughout that provide respite woven throughout, like singles "Drain The Blood" and "Autopilot", which feature vocalists Rory Rodriguez and Cassadee Pope, The tracks "Death Hold" and "Autopilot" also share similar themes, with both songs reflecting on an unhealthy relationship.
Catch the Nu Metal Agenda's previous coverage of Pink Moon's singles here.
The back-to-back salvo of tracks "The Fatalist" and "Widowmaker" provide some of the heaviest tunes on the album, with "The Fatalist" being a personal favorite of mine. "Widowmaker"'s themes of taking your life in your own hands, combined with a standout performance from drummer Paul Koehler make for a real highlight amongst already great tracks.
The album concludes with "Dying Game", another slow emo tune, but one that I find not as strong of a closer as "Cherry Coke". They're both incredibly powerful in their own rights, and they both deal in similar subjects, but "Dying Game" concludes in a fashion that feels ultimately unsatisfying and leaves me wanting more. I think that if the tracks were switched, the double album would have a much stronger conclusion, but at the same time, "Death Hold" flows much better into "Dying Game" than it would into "Cherry Coke" , so I get why they chose to end the album that way.
It's not lost on me how impressive it is that a band as old as Silverstein is able to produce not one, but two, quality albums in a single year. Once again, Silverstein prove they're the most consistent name in post-hardcore, even 25 years in. That's quite a legacy if you ask me. One that Silverstein continue to expand on, in new and exciting ways. I eagerly await what comes next.
Antibloom and Pink Moon are available now via UNFD.
SILVERSTEIN TOUR DATES
11/18 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
11/19 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
11/21 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
11/22 Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
11/23 Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
11/25 Calgary, AB @ The Palace
11/26 Edmonton, AB @ Midway
11/28 Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue
11/29 Portland, OR @ Roseland
11/30 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
12/02 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
12/03 Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
12/05 Riverside, CA @ RMA
12/06 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
12/07 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
12/10 Austin, TX @ RADIO/EAST
12/12 Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
12/13 St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
12/14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
12/16 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
12/17 Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
12/19 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
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