Review by Doug Cornell

A few weeks ago I received a comp CD of a bunch of Scandinavian bands that are playing at this year's SXSW in Austin.  I was quite impressed with the overall quality of the CD, but one band, Silver, really caught my attention with their neo-gothic entry, "Angels Calling."  I've never totally gotten over the demise of the Sisters of Mercy, and still harbor hopes that they will release a new album in this century.  "Angels Calling" isn't exactly Sisters material, but there are similarities - female choruses, massive guitars, and lyrics drenched in theatrics.

So when their new album, White Diary, showed up in the mail, I ripped it open and threw it in the CD player.  It turns out that the goth content of  "Angels Calling" is the exception rather than the rule, but this ultimately makes White Diary a more listenable effort overall.  No one wants re-hashed Sisters material, and the brazen energy of the ten tracks of the album more than satisfy all but the most jaded punk rocker.

If you were paying attention to late 80's new wave (before it was called alternative), Stiv Bators (of the Dead Boys) fronted a band called Lords of the New Church.  Silver's opening track, "The Emptiness" is spot-on Lords, with it's snotty singing and simple yet effective guitar riff.  "Funeral Class One" only needs a few chords to get it's point across, and the female backing chorus of "Oh Yea, oh yea," doesn't hurt.  Echoes of the early Dammed are heard in "Dead Articulation," while the chunky guitars and 4/4 beat of  "Dark Side of the Light" create just the right atmosphere.  "Hey, Ho!" chants open the pure punker "Evacuate! Sin Fix Journal," while "Intimate Cussing" isn't totally dissimilar from the Hives.