Silence the Ocean

Broken Vessels

Broken Vessels is the first full-length record released by Ohio metalcore act Silence the Ocean, and it begins with a soft keyboard pattern leading into an impressive growl as vocalist Conner Newberry cries out, “We are broken vessels, make us whole again.” Unfortunately for what’s to come, there isn’t much variance and it makes Silence the Ocean more haystack than needle.

The intro track segues into “Dethrone,” which contains highlight moments of layered screams. However, the track’s clean singing parts have a nasal quality that’s all too common in today’s metalcore.

“Endless” opens with a catchy riff, and the rest of the song includes some of the record’s most groovy guitar parts. The opening guitar part in “Fragile” has a unique hard-rock quality, but the rest of the track resorts to repetitive and rather uncreative breakdowns. “Structures,” the featured single from Broken Vessels, uses a catchy chorus (“What we build will destroy us”) and an ear-catching breakdown to construct a unique tune.

“The Wolf” shows potential to be a standout track, but leans on another generic breakdown. It does, however, close with some distant cleans that venture away from the metalcore norm. “Unconditional” is a worship track devoid of screaming or heavy guitars. Though its lyrics are uplifting, it’s a generic and musically boring attempt at providing a soft interlude. “My Disgrace” eases the record back into its heavy home, while “Frayed Paths” and “Machines” provide exit strength as the last two tunes. “Machines” begins with a groovy bass-line immediately followed by one of Broken Vessels’ most impressive breakdowns.

Broken Vessels has a solid ending, but its lack of creativity and abundance of similar-sounding songs casts it into the vast expanse of generic metalcore.