In the mid-2000s, Burlington, ON-born post-hardcore heavyweights Silverstein often took hits from heavy music fans for being sweeter than their metalcore counterparts. On their 11th studio LP (and first half of a forthcoming double album) Antibloom, guitarists Paul Marc Rousseau and Josh Bradford write some of the most vile, churning riffs of the band's career to date, with wild arrangements melding crushing breakdowns with shimmering synthesizers.
While the pop-punk-meets-screamo songwriting often feels very familiar, the performances on Antibloom rise far above the occasion. Vocalist Shane Told has never delivered the goods in so many ways across one record; every chorus hits like a truck, and a handful of the aforementioned breakdowns reveal sonic cues from new-school acts like Lorna Shore and Knocked Loose with the sheer force of their titanic weight.
Album opener and highlight "Mercy Mercy" opens up the pit as the tune oscillates from speed riffs to its pleading, pitch-perfect screamo chorus. The aptly named "Stress" could stand among some of the greatest elbow-throwing anthems of the scene. There's one ill-chosen vocoder pre-breakdown vocal line, but then it launches into the sparse bridge featuring some of drummer Paul Koehler's most creative and off-kilter work.
A sense of desperation permeates throughout the record, like on the hooky and incredibly emotive "Confession." Rattling bass work by Billy Hamilton eventually initiates one of the strongest choruses Silverstein have penned in years, reinforced by a pretty unabashedly epic synth line. As Told lays it out, "How many days? / How many nights? / How did I stay so many more times? / I wish I was stronger," referencing a doomed relationship he can't bring himself to exit.
Then, there's the thrash metal of "I Will Destroy This," centring on a Mastodon-esque sludge riff that ratchets up the tension until exploding into bright, duelling guitar leads in the chorus. It's a showcase for how the band's deceptively simple songwriting is elevated by Sam Guaiana's off-the-wall production, using filters to highlight the complementary guitar tones between light and dark sections.
Long-time haters will scoff at softer tunes "Don't Let Me Get Too Low" and poppy sound bite "A Little Fight," but it's always been about the contrast for Silverstein. The '00s pop-punk melodies are here to stay — and the band has mastered them by now, knowing just when to turn up the melodrama before the most disgusting breakdown imaginable.
Those who haven't heard Silverstein's blend of shadow and light will find a great entry point with Antibloom; it sounds just as massive as the infamously well-produced Underoath record, Lost in the Sound of Separation, except it's Canadian made. Meanwhile, lifelong fans of the Burlington boys can feel vindicated, as Silverstein have impressively produced an absolute banger of a record 25 years into their legendary career.