It took me a long while to appreciate the hidden, beautiful intricacies of Iridescent. Silent Planet was a band I knew very little of, and when I first dipped my toes into the record, I wasn't even that familiar with the metalcore genre either. More than a year after it's release, and many attempts to sink into it, it finally clicked.
Iridescent first showed its sound to me with Trilogy. The main riff caught my eyes instantly, which I think it does for a lot of people, and there were some great moments throughout the track. After putting the album release on my radar, I promptly forgot about it until it came out, and didn't really get into it at the time. A few months later, after :Signal: released, I went back to Iridescent again and clicked with Second Sun, a song I now love a lot for it's bold melodies, emotional sound and lyrical profoundness. After that, the rest of the pieces started falling into place.
Nik Nocturnal called Silent Planet "poetry slam in the shape of breakdowns" in one of his videos, and I think it is a surprisingly valid perspective of the band. One of the many things about the band that I've grown to love is how poetic their lyrics are, complex but not pretentious, and always very intriguing, whether profound or rageful. That said, the other facets of the band's music are definitely on par as well. Their guitarwork and drumwork is full of impressive technicality, showcasing creative writing but also never compromising on listenability. The vocals are unbelievably capable and expressive, and at times surprising me with the cleans.
When it comes to metalcore, they actually have an impressive diversity of sound to offer. Brutal breakdowns, intense riffage, emotional ballads, raw spoken word sections, atmospheric interludes, vivid ambiences, mathcore moments, and through it all the band never compromises on musical quality and creative intent. The record has some amount of experimentation but it is nowhere near gimmicky, and a prime example of this is Panopticon, a song that doesn't feature guitars at all and puts the bass front and center, and manages to remain a solid banger on the tracklist.
Iridescent is an amazing metalcore record, no doubt, but it is a first for me when it comes to seeing so much legitimate poetic intent in modern metal. I'm extremely glad I didn't give up on the record before it clicked for me, it has now become one of my favourites of 2021, largely for it's lyricism and emotional range. Silent Planet is, strangely enough, a band I never knew I needed in my life.
Rating: 9/10