One of our most anticipated of the year arrived later than expected but is easily worth the wait. From the ashes of Type O Negative and, more accurately, Seventh Void comes the new project from guitarist/vocalist Kenny Hickey alongside frequent partner-in-crime Johnny Kelly on drums who reunite for Silvertomb and this monumental slab of Gothic Doom called Edge Of Existence that is sure to fill the gap left in your black hearts in a world without Peter Steele.
But Edge Of Existence is so much more, exploring different soundscapes and touching upon a variety of genres including Psych Rawk, Classic Rawk, Grunge, Alternative, and of course, Doom which is how the record begins when “Insomnia/Sunrise” starts and Hickey snarls lines like “Restless denial won’t keep you from your mind’s eye/A demon waits in the shadows for you tonight” as this dirge rages on.
“Love You Without No Lies” has those Sabbath-ian sized riffs listeners have come to love from Hickey as he gets added support on guitar from Joseph James while “So True” is symphonic and somber setting a mood much like a film score does before Hickey’s guitars screech in like an alarm sounding to herald one helluva mover. And just when you think you have it figured out, the song switches moods as well as styles to become this massive pummeler with Kelly’s relentless bashing and then switches between these moments that hearken back to Type O’s more Gothic moments.
“Not Your Savior” is so many awesome classic rawk songs wrapped into a tidy package with Hickey’s voice crying out over a doomy and gloomy foundation accented by Aaron Joos’ haunting flourishes on the keys. “One Of You” is beastly and brooding, lurching along as Hickey wails away with his axe and voice before the track becomes one heavy ass mother in the vein of Master Of Reality with Kelly hitting like a piledriver and Hank Hell’s powerful low end reverberations giving off one ominous vibe.
“Right Of Passage/Crossing Over” is a sprawling behemoth which devolves into madness as Joos’ synths envelope Hickey’s maddening screams to become a sort of hymnal while “Sleeping On Nails And Wine” ventures to a whole other side of the musical spectrum with acoustic guitars driving the song into lullaby territory which paints a different picture within the Silvertomb musical tapestry and is kinda, dare we say, sweet? Well, it is! And just another example of the depth Hickey has to offer as chief songwriter.
Closer “Waiting” continues that acoustic trend but from the second Hickey opens his maw listeners can tell this is an anthem in the making. It’s a goosebumps-inducing reckoner when the full band comes in, sounding more like something Soundgarden would’ve put on Down on the Upside and godDAMN if this isn’t one of the best Alt/Classic Rawk jams to drop in 2019 and completely unlike anything that’s come before on the album or anywhere in Hickey’s previous musical repertoire….and that suits us just fine. And brings hope as to what’s next.
Edge Of Existence arrives on November 1st through Long Branch Records. Pre-orders are available now in a variety of options which you can check out by clicking here. And for the latest on Silvertomb, follow the band on their social media sites by clicking here or here.